Apostolides v Orams is a landmark legal case decided in the European Court of Justice on 28 April 2009. It concerned the right for Greek Cypriot refugees to reclaim land in Northern Cyprus, displaced after the 1974 Turkish invasion. The case determined that although Cyprus does not exercise effective control in Northern Cyprus, cases decided in its courts are applicable through European Union law.
Background to the case
In 1974, Meletis Apostolides, an architect, was displaced with his family from his property in Lapithos as a result of the Turkish invasion and subsequent military occupation of the northern part of Cyprus.
In 2002 David Charles and Linda Elizabeth Orams, from Hove, Sussex, England, invested £160,000 of their retirement fund to acquire the land from a third party and to construct a villa on the premises. The third party claimed to have acquired the property from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an entity which, to this day, has not been recognised by any State except the Republic of Turkey. The Orams used the property in Cyprus for vacations and maintained a separate property in the UK.
In 2003 the de facto administration of Northern Cyprus eased crossing restrictions along the ceasefire line giving the opportunity to displaced Cypriots to visit their old properties. Meletis Apostolides visited his property and confirmed the construction of the house occupied by the Orams.
Legal Proceeding in Cyprus
Meletis Apostolides took his case to the Nicosia District court, demanding the vacation of his property by the Orams. Northern Cyprus, although a de facto functioning entity, remains an unrecognised state internationally. Mr Apostolides' case centred around the argument that although following the Turkish invasion the government of Cyprus had lost effective control over the northern part of the island, its laws still applied even if these were not easily enforceable.
In November 2004 the Nicosia District Court ordered the Orams to:
- demolish the villa, swimming pool and fencing which they had erected on Mr Apostolides' land
- deliver immediately to Mr Apostolides free possession of the land
- pay Mr Apostolides various sums by way of special damages and monthly rental charges (including interest) until the judgment was complied with
- refrain from continuing with the unlawful intervention on the land, whether personally or through their agents, and
- pay various sums in respect of the costs and expenses of the proceedings (with interest on those sums).
The Orams appealed this decision, which was heard at the supreme court of Cyprus. The appeal was dismissed.
Legal Proceeding in England and Wales
Due to the island's division, the judgment reached by the Cypriot court was not enforceable, hence Mr Apostolides used EU regulations to have it registered and applied against the Orams' assets in the UK. The procedure for the enforcement of judgements between Member States of the European Union is provided by Regulation No 44/2001. The Orams were represented in the English courts by Cherie Blair, an action criticised by the then president of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos. He argued that due to its political nature, the wife of an acting prime minister should not be involved in such a case.
In September 2006, the High Court of Justice ruled in favour of the Orams. Mr Apostolides appealed the decision at the Court of appeal which in turn referred the case to the European Court of Justice, in Luxembourg.
Legal Proceeding in the EU
The case C-420/07, Apostolides v Orams, was heard by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. A panel of judges ruled on April 28, 2009 that British courts must enforce the judicial decisions made in Cyprus, which uphold the property rights of Cypriots forced out during the invasion.
Implications
The case has been described as a landmark test case as it sets a precedent for other Cypriots (primarily Greek Cypriot refugees) to bring similar actions to court. The importance of the case is illustrated by the fact that the Orams were funded by Turkish property developers whilst Mr Apostolides was supported by Greek-Cypriot interests.
Both the British High Commission in Cyprus and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have issued warnings regarding the purchase of property in Northern Cyprus.
See also
Loizidou v. Turkey
External links
- High Court of Justice, Orams v. Apostolides EWHC 2226 (QB), case no: B/2005/PTA/0897.
- A French summary of the judgement of the Cypriot court (Eparchiako Dikastirio Lefkosias, case no. 9968/04, 19 April 2005, Apostolidis v. D. and L. Orams) is available in Reflets, Informations rapides sur les développements juridiques présentant un intérêt communautaire , Nº 1/2006, pages 15-16.
- Veronika Gaertner, "Northern Cyprus and the Acquis Communautaire", February 23, 2008
- Veronika Gaertner, "ECJ Judgment: Apostolides", April 29, 2009
- Veronika Gaertner, "ECJ: AG Opinion in “Apostolides”", December 20, 2008
References
- ^ "Greek Cypriots can reclaim land". BBC . 28 April 2009 . http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8022238.stm . Retrieved 2009-04-29 .
- ^ "Case C‑420/07". European Court of Justice. 28 April 2009 . http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=en&Submit=Rechercher&alldocs=alldocs&docj=docj&docop=docop&docor=docor&docjo=docjo&numaff=C-420/07&datefs=&datefe=&nomusuel=&domaine=&mots=&resmax=100 . Retrieved 2009-04-29 .
- ^ Bodoni, Stephanie; Simon Packard (28 April 2009). "U.K. Couple Must Demolish Cyprus Home, EU Court Says". Bloomberg L.P. . http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=asoJPS9YV55g&refer=uk . Retrieved 2009-04-29 .
- ^ Smith, Helena (19 December 2005). "Cherie Booth's role in Cyprus land dispute angers president". The Guardian . http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/dec/19/world.cyprus . Retrieved 2009-04-29 .
- ^ "Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001". The Court of Justice of the European Communities. 22 December 2000 . http://curia.europa.eu/common/recdoc/convention/en/c-textes/_2001R0044-textes.htm . Retrieved 2009-04-29 .
- ^ "Cypriot anger at Cherie land case". BBC . 17 December 2005 . http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4538960.stm . Retrieved 2009-04-29 .
- ^ "Greek Cypriots can recla
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