Statements by the Foreign Minister on the Orams case

(PIO) - The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Markos Kyprianou, invited by the press to say how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to utilize the British Court of Appeal decision in the case Apostolides v Orams, stated the following:

“The implementation and the execution of the decision is now a legal obligation and we will be following the developments closely. Of course, of exceptional importance to us are the broader consequences and the wider significance of this decision in conjunction with the important Judgement of the European Court, which was in essence adopted by the British Court as well. This decision points out certain legal facts that are very important.

First of all, it is applicable throughout Europe and it applies to all European citizens. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will become active - we have already been active since the decision of the European Court but now we will become more active, so that the significance of the decision, the illegality of purchasing immovable property and the existing risks for the buyers in illegally purchasing occupied property can be made known to all European citizens. Consequently it is a decision that binds all the member states and the citizens of the European Union and can be executed in the countries where they live.

Secondly, which is also very important, the combination of the European and British decision reaffirms that - irrespective of the occupation and the practical weakness of the state to exercise control on the occupied areas - the Laws and the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus still apply. This is a message that must be sent, not only to the citizens, the private buyers, but also to the governments of all foreign states, especially the European ones, and all those carrying out business in the occupied areas; the reminder that anything they do must be done with respect for the Laws of the Republic of Cyprus, and of course this also applies for the European Commission which, through various regulations that have been adopted to strengthen the Turkish Cypriot community, is active in the occupied areas.
Thirdly, and this concerns of course the talks in Cyprus, the legitimacy of the positions presented by our side is reaffirmed concerning, not only who the legitimate owners of occupied properties are, but also who should have a say in the management and the fate of this right, who is of course the owner.

So, I totally disagree with the approach of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I do not believe that this decision will complicate the talks. On the contrary, it reaffirms the legitimacy of our proposals and I believe that this should be accepted also by the other side”.

EU must obey Nicosia's rulings, even in north Cyprus, EU court says

(Earth Times) - Luxembourg - European Union member states must enforce rulings by courts in the Greek half of Cyprus even if they cover property in the Turkish-controlled north of the island, the EU's highest court ruled on Tuesday. "A judgment of a court in the Republic of Cyprus must be recognized and enforced by the other (EU) member states even if it concerns land situated in the north of the island," the European Court of Justice said in a statement. The ruling comes in a complex legal dispute pitting a British couple, David and Linda Orams, against a Greek Cypriot, Meletis Apostolides, whose family was forced to leave Northern Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of 1974. Apostolides sued the Orams for buying his family's land from an unnamed third party and building a holiday home on it, demanding that they give him the land back and pay him rent. A Cypriot court backed Apostolides' claim, ordering the Orams to leave the land and pay him damages and costs. Apostolides then took that ruling to Britain, demanding that the British courts enforce it. Tuesday's precedent-setting ruling means that the British courts will have to accept Apostolides' demand, even though there is no way for the Cypriot court to enforce its judgment on the divided island. "The fact that the land concerned is situated in an area over which the government does not exercise effective control ... does not preclude the recognition and enforcement of those judgments in another member state," the court statement said.

Το ΔΕΚ δικαίωσε το Μελέτη Αποστολίδη στην υπόθεση Όραμας

(Phileleftheros) - Λουξεμβούργο: Το Δικαστήριο Ευρωπαϊκών Κοινοτήτων δικαίωσε σήμερα το Μελέτη Αποστολίδη στην υπόθεση εναντίον του ζεύγους Όραμς. Ο Αποστολίδης είχε κινηθεί νομικά εναντίον του ζεύγους Όραμας επειδή είχαν ανεγείρει οικία σε γη που του ανήκει στην κατεχόμενη Κερύνεια και αρχικά δικαιώθηκε από κυπριακό δικαστήριο. Ωστόσο, πρωτόδικη απόφαση βρετανικού δικαστηρίου υποστήριζε ότι αυτή δεν μπορούσε να εκτελεστεί από τη βρετανική δικαιοσύνη.

Ο Αποστολίδης εφεσίβαλε την απόφαση με αποτέλεσμα το Εφετείο της Βρετανίας να αποστείλει στο Δικαστήριο Ευρωπαϊκών Κοινοτήτων την υπόθεση για τη λήψη τελικής απόφασης.

Σε δηλώσεις του από το Λουξεμβούργο, ο δικηγόρος του Ελληνοκύπριου Μελέτη Αποστολίδη, Κωνσταντής Καντούνας, είπε πως η απόφαση είναι 100% υπέρ των θέσεων του κ. Αποστολίδη.

Greek Cypriots 'can reclaim land'

(BBC) - A European court has backed the right of a Greek Cypriot to reclaim land in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus that has since been sold to a UK couple.

Meletis Apostolides was one of thousands of Greek Cypriots who fled his home when Turkish forces invaded in 1974, following a Greek-inspired coup.

The land was later sold to Linda and David Orams, who built a villa on it.

The European Court of Justice says a ruling in a Cypriot court that the villa must be demolished is applicable.

Even if the ECJ ruling cannot be enacted because the land is under Turkish Cypriot control, it means Mr Apostolides will be able to pursue a claim for compensation in a British court.

It could also open the way for hundreds more Greek Cypriots to demand restitution for properties they were forced to flee.

British Couple Must Demolish Cyprus Home, EU Top Court Says

(Bloomberg) -- A U.K. couple ordered by a Southern Cyprus court to demolish their holiday home in the northern part of the island, are bound by the ruling, the European Union’s highest court said.

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg today said that a judgment from a judge in the Republic of Cyprus in the south must be recognized by EU countries even if it concerns land in the northern part of the island.

Linda and David Orams, a retired British couple have been entangled in litigation across Europe since the court’s 2004 order. Their dispute took a twist when London’s Court of Appeal in 2007 questioned whether the ruling could be enforced in Northern Cyprus, an area recognized only by Turkey and not part of the EU.

The ruling, which can’t be appealed and has to be followed by the U.K. court, has implications for thousands of Britons who own property in Northern Cyprus. The Orams, from Hove, England, said they invested 160,000 pounds ($230,000) in their holiday home in Lapithos, a region in the north occupied by Turkish troops in 1974.

The Cypriot court ordered the Orams to tear down their property in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, return the land and pay damages to Meletis Apostolides, an architect whose Greek Cypriot family originally owned the land.

Apostolides applied to have the judgment recognized in the U.K. which would allow him to seize the couple’s assets. He argued that since the U.K. and Cyprus were both EU member nations, the ruling was enforceable across the region.

The case is C-420/07 Apostolides v Orams.

ECJ to rule on Orams

(Cyprus Weekly) - FAR REACHING IMPLICATIONS FOR PROPERTY ISSUE

The European Court of Justice will on Tuesday rule on the high profile Orams case which is set to have far reaching effects on the issue of refugee properties in Cyprus.

The ECJ preliminary decision will determine whether EU citizens who are penalised by Cypriot courts for buying refugee property in the occupied part of Cyprus, can have the Cypriot court decision enforced against them in their home country under EU Regulation 44/2001.

It follows an appeal by Greek Cypriot refugee Meletis Apostolides, who sought to enforce a 2004 local court decision in the UK against David and Linda Orams for illegally building a luxury villa on his Lapithos property.

The Advocate General of the ECJ Juliane Kokott in an opinion published in December 2008 fully endorsed Apostolides’ arguments, expressing also the view that the negotiation efforts to solve the Cyprus problem do not constitute public policy grounds on which to reject the appeal.

But Apostolides’ lawyer Constantis Candounas in a press release this week stressed that the Advocate General’s Opinion is not binding on the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice.

Apostolides and his lawyer will give a conference on their return from Luxembourg.

Irrespective of the final outcome, Apostolides expressed thanks to the Government of Poland, the Hellenic Republic, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus as well as the Commission of the European Communities for submitting written observations in the proceedings before the ECJ.