Turkish Cypriot fears over property issues were confirmed on 28 April, when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that UK courts should enforce rulings by Greek Cypriot courts relating to disputed properties in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus. 

The ruling means that Greek Cypriots who owned land in the north before the Turkish invasion of 1974 can demand that their claims against current, de facto owners in the north be enforced across the European Union even though EU law does not apply in the north of the island.

Legal challenges

The Turkish Cypriots have been seeking reassurances from the European Commission that derogations from EU law that are required as part of a reunification plan will be shielded against legal challenges. It is precisely rulings like that of the ECJ in the Apostolides vs Orams case that worry them. “The Turkish Cypriots are scared that it takes just one clever Greek Cypriot lawyer to challenge a settlement in court,” says Hugh Pope, director of the Turkey programme of the International Crisis Group, a think-tank.

The ECJ ruling concerned a British couple, David and Linda Orams, who acquired land in the north of Cyprus in 2002 and built a holiday home. A Greek Cypriot court ordered them to demolish their villa, return the land to its original Greek Cypriot owner and pay rent for the time that they had used it. Failure to do so could mean that their UK-based property was seized. UK courts had previously decided in the Orams’ favour, but the ECJ ruling is binding and no appeal is possible.

The ruling has put an end to a construction boom in the north of Cyprus and made local banks reluctant to accept title deeds as collateral for loans, Pope says. He also points out that abandoned Greek properties tended to be of higher value and located in more easily accessible parts of the island than those originally belonging to the island’s Turks, which makes the business of putting a figure on the issue problematic.

It is estimated that up to 10,000 EU nationals, including around 6,000 British citizens, have properties in northern Cyprus. Many of these properties previously belonged to Greek Cypriots who fled the Turkish invasion in 1974 and so could be the subject of legal challenges. Eight test cases against Turkey by Greek Cypriot claimants are going to be heard by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg later this month (18 November).

Toby Vogel

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