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Top European human rights court recognizes Turkish Cypriot commission
The verdict means that from now on Greek Cypriots will not be able to launch court cases against Turkey at the European court prior to seeking redress with the IPC and sets a precedent for approximately 1,500 property cases pending at the European court. The ruling is also significant in that for the first time a Turkish Cypriot commission has been recognized by Europe's top human rights court, boosting the international legitimacy of the KKTC.
It is expected that the European court ruling will play a decisive role in the ongoing negotiations on the divided island. Property disputes are considered one of the most difficult topics to negotiate.
KKTC President Mehmet Ali Talat described the decision as “historic” and added that it will help the ongoing reunification talks with Greek Cypriots since it draws clear lines for the negotiations on property rights.
Law experts hailed the European court's decision, which accepted the IPC as an internal legal body, as a positive development for the Turkish Cypriot side and stressed that in time all Cypriot property cases could be referred to the commission for arbitration.
In the European court's admissibility decision regarding Demopoulos vs. Turkey and seven other cases, the court pointed out that “even though the international community regarded Turkey as being in illegal occupation of the northern part of Cyprus, this did not mean that, when dealing with individual complaints under the Convention concerning interference with property, its discretion as to the manner in which it executed a judgment should not be respected.”
Commenting on the decision, Professor Mehmet Hasgüler told Sunday's Zaman that the IPC had been established by the KKTC as a mechanism to protect the property rights of Greek Cypriots and called the verdict very important because it points to the commission as an address for a solution. The commission has received applications from many Greek Cypriots for the restitution of their property in the north and has concluded some of those cases.
Hasgüler further noted that after this decision, Greek Cypriots might be inclined to show goodwill if the European Union lends its support to the solution as well. “Only after that will Greek Cypriots enter into negotiations as one of two equal partners,” he added.
The IPC functioning within the framework of the European court's suggestions made in March and December 2005. The commission was set up with the aim of creating an internal legal procedure for property issues in line with “The Law on Compensation, Exchange and Restitution of the Immovable Property,” which after many debates was approved and put into force on Dec. 19, 2005. The commission is responsible for implementing the law, which envisages compensation, exchange and restitution for properties owned by Greek Cypriots in northern Cyprus.
According to new legal provisions, all natural and legal persons claiming rights to immovable or movable property can bring a claim before the IPC, provided they submit title deeds or proof of ownership. As of November 2009, the number of cases brought before the IPC stood at 433. Of these, 85 had been concluded, the vast majority by means of friendly settlement. In more than 70 cases, compensation had been awarded. Some 361,493 square meters of property had been restituted and approximately 47 million euros paid in compensation.
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