(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.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
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.
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.
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