PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 39970/98) 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 nine Cypriot nationals, Mr Thomas George Hadjithomas, Mrs Ioulia Yioupa Hadjithoma, Mrs Paraskevi Hadjithoma-Hapeshi, Mr Nicos Thomas Hadjithomas, Mrs Xanthi Antoniou-Hadjithoma, Mr Thomas Hadjithomas, Mr Christoforos Hadjithomas, Mr Andreas Hadjithomas and Savvas Hadjithoma (“the applicants”), on 2 February 1998.

The applicants, who had been granted legal aid, were represented by Mr K. Chrysostomides, a lawyer practising in Nicosia. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr Z.M. Necatigil.

The applicants alleged that the Turkish occupation of the northern part of Cyprus had deprived them of their home and properties.

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 11 January 2000 the Court declared the application admissible.

The applicants 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)).

On an unspecified date, the first applicant, Mr Thomas George Hadjithomas, died. In a fax of 23 February 2003 the other applicants confirmed their wish to continue the application on his behalf in their capacity as his heirs.

THE FACTS

The applicants were born in 1930, 1936, 1958, 1961, 1959, 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1990 respectively. Their place of residence is not known. In a fax of 22 March 2002 the applicants' representative indicated that “the Hadjithomas family had [had] to ... emigrate abroad”.

The first and second applicants (Mr Thomas George Hadjithomas and Mrs Ioulia Yioupa Hadjithoma) were a married couple. The third and fourth applicants (Mrs Paraskevi Hadjithoma-Hapeshi and Mr Nicos Thomas Hadjithomas) are their children. The fifth applicant (Mrs Xanthi Antoniou-Hadjithoma) is the widow of the elder son of the family, X, whom she married in 1983. The remaining applicants are the children of X and the fifth applicant.

The first and second applicants alleged that they had lived with their children in Ayios Amvrosios, a village in the District of Kyrenia (northern Cyprus), where the first applicant owned several properties, including the family house. On 13 August 1974, as the Turkish troops were advancing, the applicants left Ayios Amvrosios and fled to the unoccupied part of Cyprus.

On 12 January 1996 the first applicant transferred the ownership of most of his properties, including the family house, to his three children: the third and fourth applicants and X. In November 1996 X died. His estate was inherited by the fifth applicant and their children (the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth applicants). Detailed information about the properties at issue is contained in the file. In particular, in 1974 the first applicant was the owner of 33 plots of land, including woodlands; the family house (registered under no. 10920, plot no. 40-41-476/2); a garden; a non-descript “site”; a “ruined room”; a “ruined mill with one room”; and an orchard with 12 mulberry trees. These properties were located in the villages of Ayios Amvrosios, Klepini and Chartzia.

The applicants produced an affidavit from Mr Georgios Michael, the Kyrenia Deputy District Officer of the Department of Lands and Surveys of the Republic of Cyprus, stating that: (a) for 18 of the properties (including the house) there existed original title deeds; (b) for 6 other properties there existed the title deeds and “certificates of ownership of Turkish-occupied immovable properties” issued by the Republic of Cyprus; and (c) for 15 other properties the original title deeds were lost in 1974 and only certificates of ownership were available. All the above-mentioned documents have been produced by the applicants.

The applicants claimed that they had been informed that their house in Ayios Amvrosios had been destroyed by the Turkish army. This fact was denied by the respondent Government.