52
CYPRUS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT
documentary materials including the “Karpas Brief” on the living conditions
of the enclaved Greek-Cypriot population in northern Cyprus and the UN
Secretary-General's progress reports on the proposals for remedial action
formulated in the Brief.
212. The Court observes that the applicant Government accept much of
the Commission's findings of fact. Their criticism is directed at certain
conclusions which the Commission drew from those facts. For its part, and
having regard to the wide-ranging and thorough analysis of the evidence
conducted by the Commission, the Court does not consider that there are
any exceptional circumstances which would lead it to depart from the facts
as established by the Commission. It will, on the other hand, scrutinise
carefully whether the facts bear out all of the applicant Government's
complaints. It reiterates that it will do so using the “beyond reasonable
doubt” standard of proof including with respect to the alleged existence of
an administrative practice of violating the Convention rights relied on (see
paragraphs 114-15 above).
213. As to the applicant Government's request that the Humanitarian
Review dealing with the living conditions of the Maronite community in
northern Cyprus be obtained, the Court observes that the respondent
Government have not signalled that they have lifted their objection to the
release of the document. It observes that, in any event, major aspects of the
Review have been made public and have been included in the case file.
214. The Court notes that the Commission, in its examination of the
merits of the applicant Government's complaints, made an overall
assessment of the living conditions of Greek Cypriots living in northern
Cyprus from the standpoint of Articles 3, 8 and 14 of the Convention. At the
same time, the Commission examined the merits of the complaints about the
living conditions under the relevant Convention Article (Articles 2, 5, 6, 9,
10 and 11 of the Convention and Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol No. 1), while
addressing in the framework of its global assessment the specific complaints
raised by the applicant Government under Article 8 concerning
interferences with the right of the Karpas Greek Cypriots to respect for their
private and family life, home and correspondence. Having regard to the fact
that the applicant Government's arguments on the latter aspects of Article 8
are interwoven with their broader submissions on the violation of that
provision, the Court considers that it is appropriate to discuss those
arguments in the context of the living conditions of the Karpas Greek
Cypriots seen from the angle of Article 8.
215. The Court will accordingly follow the Commission's approach in
this regard.