PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 18407/91) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights (“the Commission”) under former Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Cypriot national, Mr Yiannis Kyriakou (“the applicant”), on 31 May 1991.

The applicant was represented by Mr E. Evripidou, a lawyer practising in Nicosia. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr Z.M. Necatigil.

The applicant alleged that the Turkish occupation of the northern part of Cyprus had deprived him of his home and properties.

The applicant died on 3 November 1994. No letters of administration having been granted for his estate, his lawful heirs are his wife, Mrs Andriana Yianni Kyriakou and his two sons, Andreas Ioannou and Kyriakos Ioannou. In September 1999 the applicant’s heirs informed the Court that they wished to pursue the application on behalf of the deceased.

The application was transmitted to the Court on 1 November 1998, when Protocol No. 11 to the Convention came into force (Article 5 § 2 of Protocol No. 11).

By a decision of 8 June 1999 the Court declared the application admissible.

The applicant and the Government each filed observations on the merits (Rule 59 § 1). In addition, third-party comments were received from the Government of Cyprus, which had exercised its right to intervene (Article 36 § 1 of the Convention and Rule 44 § 1 (b)).

THE FACTS

The applicant was born in 1908.

The applicant grew up in Trypimeni, a village in the District of Famagusta. He alleged that he was the owner of the following immovable properties in the village: (a) registration no. 5147, plot no. 20, sheet/plan 13/40, house with two rooms and one kitchen, one veranda, oven, trees and yard; the applicant alleged that two extra rooms and one kitchen had been added later; area of the plot of land: 530 sq. m; area of the house: 230 sq. m; (b) registration no. 2597, plot no. 442, sheet/plan 13/40, field with olive trees; area: 13,713 sq. m.

In support of his claim of ownership, the applicant submitted copies of the original title deeds. It appears from these documents that the applicant owned five twelfths of the property described above under paragraph 9 (a) and half of the property described above under paragraph 9 (b). However, in his observations of September 1999, the applicant’s lawyer alleged that his client had had full ownership of the whole of the two plots. He submitted that from 1921 onwards only the applicant, his wife and his two children had been living in the house built on plot no. 20. This house had been the marital home from the time of his wedding and the applicant had had the absolute and unrestricted use and occupation of it. Moreover, from August 1928 the applicant had been cultivating and taking care of the whole of plot no. 442. He had been a farmer who earned his income from the production of the olive trees. In support of these statements, the applicant’s lawyer produced a certificate issued by the Trypimeni village committee on 25 September 1999. The reason why the applicant had not been registered as the owner of the whole share of the two plots was that the applicant’s mother, Mrs Maria Yianni, had been the owner of two twelfths of plot no. 20. She had given one twelfth of the plot to the applicant and one twelfth to his brother, Mr Elias Kyriakou, in the form of an unregistered gift. The applicant’s brother had also been the owner of the remaining five twelfths of plot no. 20 and of the remaining half of plot no. 442. In 1956 Mr Elias Kyriakou, who had emigrated to Australia and had no intention of coming back to Cyprus, had given all his shares to the applicant. However, no official transfer of ownership had been entered in the land register. In support of his version of the facts, the applicant’s lawyer produced an affidavit from the applicant’s son, Mr Andreas Ioannou.

In July 1974, as the Turkish troops were advancing, the applicant and his family had to leave Famagusta and flee to the area still controlled by the Cypriot Government. The applicant had lived until his death in a small house located in a housing scheme for displaced persons.

Since 1974 the applicant had been unable to return to his home and property in the northern part of Cyprus. He participated in various peaceful demonstrations and marches, but had been prevented from walking home by the Turkish troops. On 9 December 1990 the applicant took part once again in a car convoy organised by persons from three villages in Kyrenia and from Trypimeni wishing to return to their homes in the north peacefully. The participants in the convoy had informed the commander of the United Nations (UN) forces in Cyprus of their intention to return home. They drove to the “buffer zone” checkpoint on the main road linking Nicosia and Famagusta. There they stopped and asked the UN officer on duty to be allowed to return to their homes, properties and villages. They requested him to transmit their demand to the Turkish military authorities. The UN officer announced to the applicant and the other participants in the convoy that the Turkish military authorities had refused their request to drive through the checkpoint and enter the northern part of Cyprus.