46
CYPRUS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT
appear that any remedies were available to displaced Greek Cypriots
deprived of their property in northern Cyprus.
182. As to the merits, the Commission considered that the nature of the
alleged interferences with the property rights of displaced Greek Cypriots
was in essence the same as the interference of which Mrs Loizidou had
complained in her application. Although that application concerned one
particular instance of the general administrative practice to which the
complaints in the present case relate, the Court's reasoning at paragraphs 63
and 64 of its Loizidou judgment (merits) (pp. 2237-38) must also apply to
the administrative practice as such.
183. The Commission, essentially for the reasons set out by the Court in
the above-mentioned judgment, concluded that during the period under
consideration there had been a continuing violation of Article 1 of Protocol
No. 1 by virtue of the fact that Greek-Cypriot owners of property in
northern Cyprus were being denied access to and control, use and
enjoyment of their property as well as any compensation for the interference
with their property rights.
184. The Court agrees with the Commission's analysis. It observes that
the Commission found it established on the evidence that at least since June
1989 the “TRNC” authorities no longer recognised any ownership rights of
Greek Cypriots in respect of their properties in northern Cyprus (see
paragraph 32 above). This purported deprivation of the property at issue was
embodied in a constitutional provision, “Article 159 of the TRNC
Constitution”, and given practical effect in “Law no. 52/1995”. It would
appear that the legality of the interference with the displaced persons'
property is unassailable before the “TRNC” courts. Accordingly, there is no
requirement for the persons concerned to use domestic remedies to secure
redress for their complaints.
185. The Court would further observe that the essence of the applicant
Government's complaints is not that there has been a formal and unlawful
expropriation of the property of the displaced persons but that these persons,
because of the continuing denial of access to their property, have lost all
control over, as well as possibilities to enjoy, their land. As the Court has
noted previously (see paragraphs 172-73 above), the physical exclusion of
Greek-Cypriot persons from the territory of northern Cyprus is enforced as a
matter of “TRNC” policy or practice. The exhaustion requirement does not
accordingly apply in these circumstances.
186. The Court recalls its finding in the Loizidou judgment (merits) that
that particular applicant could not be deemed to have lost title to her
property by operation of “Article 159 of the TRNC Constitution”, a
provision which it held to be invalid for the purposes of the Convention
(p. 2231, § 44). This conclusion is unaffected by the operation of “Law
no. 52/1995”. It adds that, although the latter was not invoked before the