Judgements by European Court of Human Rights and Court of Justice of European Union and Their Effects on the Law of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Regarding Property Issue in Cyprus

Abstract

The strong relations established by Turkey with European institutions and her intention to become a member of European Union have influenced legally and politically the property issue in Cyprus. EU requires the candidate states to respect the human rights and have the capacity to implement and acquire the obliations arising out of EU law. Therefore, verdicts of both Court of Justice of European Union and European Court of Human Rights forced Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to change their policies and the legal rules regarding the properties left behind by Greek Cypriots after 1974. On the one hand, ECHR refused to recognize the expropriation of Greek Cypriot Properties in Northern Cyprus by TRNC and held that the property rights of Greek Cypriots were violated. More importantly ECHR decided that those violations were attributable to Turkey. On the other hand CJEU decided that the courts sitting in the Greek Side had the jurisdiction on the cases regarding the properties in Northern Cyprus.