CYPRUS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT
91
respondent State, as a matter of law and practice, violated Article 13 by
reason of its failure to provide an effective remedy before a national
authority to the Gypsy community and political opponents of Turkey's
policy in Cyprus.
381. The Commission considered that, generally speaking, the remedies
provided by the “TRNC” legal system appeared sufficient to provide redress
against any alleged violation of Convention rights in respect of the groups at
issue and that the applicant Government had not substantiated their
allegation concerning the existence of a practice of violating Article 13. It
thus concluded that there had been no violation of Article 13 during the
period under consideration.
382. The Court recalls that, as regards their allegations concerning
political opponents (see paragraphs 342-44 above) and the Gypsy
community (see paragraphs 349-50 above), it considered that the applicant
Government had not succeeded in refuting the respondent Government's
submissions in the proceedings before the Commission that remedies were
available to aggrieved individuals within the “TRNC” legal system. The
Court was not persuaded that any attempt to invoke a remedy was doomed
to failure. On that account the Court could not accept the applicant
Government's allegation that there was an administrative practice of
denying remedies to individuals, in breach of Article 13 of the Convention.
The evidence before the Court in this connection cannot be said to prove
beyond reasonable doubt the existence of any such practice.
383. The Court concludes accordingly that no violation of Article 13 of
the Convention has been established by reason of a failure as a matter of
administrative practice to secure effective remedies to Turkish Cypriots
living in northern Cyprus.
VIII. ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLES 1, 17, 18 AND FORMER
ARTICLE 32 § 4 OF THE CONVENTION
384. The applicant Government requested the Court to find violations of
Articles 1, 17, 18 and former Article 32 § 4 of the Convention. Article 1
provides:
“The High Contracting Parties shall secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the
rights and freedoms defined in Section I of [the] Convention.”
Former Article 32 § 4 of the Convention provides:
“The High Contracting Parties undertake to regard as binding on them any decision
which the Committee of Ministers may take in application of the preceding
paragraphs.”
385. The applicant Government contended that in view of the
comprehensive and massive violations of the Convention committed by the