Turkish Cypriot Nezire Sofi filed her complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in 2004. A public hearing scheduled to be held in the court on Jan. 28 was recently cancelled after the two parties reached a settlement on the issue, with lawyers for the Greek Cypriot government offering to pay 500,000 euros to 83-year-old Sofi, who now lives in Britain. Sofi’s properties in Larnaca consist of two houses and two plots.
In a declaration signed by the two parties via the intermediation of the court, the Greek Cypriots pledged to make amendments to their legislation, which currently prevents Turkish Cypriots from claiming their rights to property in the southern part of the island, admitting that the existing legislation is not in compliance with human rights.
A Greek Cypriot chief prosecutor and Zaim Necatigil, Sofi’s lawyer, signed the declaration, which is a landmark in the complex issue of property in Cyprus.
Referring to the fact that a total of 10 Turkish Cypriot complaints have been filed with the European court, Necatigil told Today’s Zaman that he expected the amicable settlement to set a precedent for those complaints.
The declaration will become final if the European court endorses it as being in compliance with human rights, Necatigil said.
“We expect it to be endorsed because the Greek Cypriot side has accepted our demands,” he said. “The Greek Cypriot side’s pledge to make amendments to their legislation, which prevents Turkish Cypriots from claiming their property rights, is a huge step. This settlement can be shown as a precedent in other complaints by Turkish Cypriots.”
