KYRIAKIDES v. TURKEY
Communicated on 19 March 2019
SECOND SECTION
Application no. 82604/17
Ioannis KYRIAKIDES
against Turkey
lodged on 17 November 2017
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Mr Ioannis Kyriakides, is a Cypriot national, who was born in 1959 and lives in Nicosia. He is represented before the Court by Mr M.M. Hakkı, a lawyer practising in Lefkoşa.
The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
In January 2011 the applicant, a Greek Cypriot, filed an application with the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”) Immovable Property Commission (“IPC”) seeking compensation for property located in the “TRNC” to which he had not had access following the Turkish military intervention in 1974.
At a hearing before the IPC on 13 February 2017 the applicant accepted a friendly settlement proposal made by the “TRNC” authorities by which he would receive 428,360 pound sterling (GBP) in order to renounce his property claim before the IPC.
On the same day, the IPC accepted the settlement between the parties and made an award in the indicated amount in the applicant’s favour.
However, since then the applicant has been unable to enforce the IPC award made in his favour.
In this connection, the applicant points to the case-law of the “TRNC” Supreme Court and the lower courts according to which it is not possible to enforce the IPC award until a special form is signed to that effect and the moment at which that form can be signed is determined by the “TRNC” authorities. At the same time, no statutory interest is payable on the IPC awards.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complains of a prolonged non-enforcement of the IPC award made in his favour and absence of any statutory interest for such a delay in enforcement. He also alleges that he has been discriminated against on the basis of his Greek Cypriot origin.
The applicant relies on Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Having regard to the prolonged non-enforcement of the IPC award, has there been a breach of the applicant’s rights under Articles 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 13 of the Convention?
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