THIRD SECTION
DECISION
AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF
Application no. 16158/90
by Afroula DEMETRIOU
against Turkey
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section) sitting on 24 August 1999 as a Chamber composed of
SirNicolas Bratza, President,
MrJ.-P. Costa,
MrsF. Tulkens,
MrW. Fuhrmann,
MrK. Jungwiert,
MrK. Traja, Judges,
MrF. Gölcüklü, ad hoc Judge,
withMrsS. Dollé, Section Registrar;
Having regard to Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
Having regard to the application introduced on 26 January 1990 by Afroula Demetriou against Turkey and registered on 14 February 1990 under file no. 16158/90;
Having regard to the report provided for in Rule 49 of the Rules of Court;
Having regard to the fact that no observations have been submitted by the respondent Government within the time-limit fixed for that purpose;
Having deliberated;
Decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant is a Cypriot national born in 1920 and residing at Nicosia. Before the Court she is represented by Mr Achilleas Demetriades, a lawyer practising in Nicosia.
The facts of the case, as they have been submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows:
The applicant states that she is the owner of a fully furnished house, which she used as a secondary residence, in the District of Kyrenia. As a result of the 1974 Turkish invasion she has been deprived of her property rights, her property being located in the area which is under the occupation and the overall control of the Turkish military authorities. The latter have prevented her from having access to and the use or possession of her house and property. She is continuously prevented from entering the northern part of Cyprus because of her Greek-Cypriot origin. Moreover, the applicant states that her house is currently occupied by officers and/or other members of the Turkish military forces.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant alleges a violation of Articles 1, 8 and 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
She states that since the Turkish invasion of the northern part of Cyprus in July 1974 and since 29 January 1987, when Turkey accepted the competence of the European Commission of Human Rights to examine individual petitions against it, Turkey prevented her from exercising her right to the peaceful enjoyment of her home and possessions. She submits, in particular, that her house has been used and occupied by members and/or officers of the Turkish military forces.
PROCEDURE
The application was introduced on 26 January 1990 and registered on 14 February 1990.
On 29 November 1993, the European Commission of Human Rights decided to communicate the complaints under Articles 8 of the Convention and 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the respondent Government and invited them to submit written observations on the admissibility and merits of the application before 18 March 1994.
On 16 March 1994, the Government requested the Commission to adjourn the proceedings until the Court completed its consideration of the case of Loizidou v. Turkey. On 9 April 1994 the Commission granted the request.
Following the Court’s judgment in the case of Loizidou (Eur. Court HR, Loizidou judgment of 18 December 1996 (merits), Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996-VI), the Commission examined, on 23 January 1997, the state of proceedings in the present application. It decided to invite the respondent Government to submit supplementary observations by 4 April 1997, and in the light of the above-mentioned judgment, on Articles 8 and 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
On 18 April 1997, the Commission decided to suspend the request for the submission of supplementary observations by the Government until 5 September 1997. On 13 September 1997, it laid down a new time-limit for that purpose of 8 December 1997. At the request of the Government, the President of the Commission agreed to four extensions of that time-limit until 7 July 1998. On 30 November 1998, and after the expiry of the above-mentioned time-limit, the Government again requested a further extension. No observations were submitted.
On 1 November 1998, by operation of Article 5 § 2 of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention, the case fell to be examined by the Court in accordance with the provisions of that Protocol.
THE LAW
The applicant complains that, since the Turkish invasion of the northern part of Cyprus in July 1974 and since 29 January 1987, when Turkey accepted the competence of the European Commission of Human Rights to examine individual petitions against it, Turkey prevented her from exercising her right to the peaceful enjoyment of her home and possessions. She submits, in particular, that her house has been used and occupied by members and/or officers of the Turkish military forces. She alleges that Turkey has violated Articles 1, 8 and 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
Article 1 of the Convention creates a general obligation upon High Contracting Parties to respect human rights. Article 8 ensures respect for private and family life, the home and correspondence. Article 13 provides for an effective remedy before a national authority and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 guarantees property rights.
The Court notes that the respondent Government have not provided any observations on the admissibility of the case, although they have been given ample opportunity to do so. It must, therefore, be assumed that they do not contest the admissibility of the application.
The Court considers that the application raises serious questions of fact and law which are of such complexity that their determination should depend on an examination of the merits. It cannot, therefore, be considered manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. No other ground for declaring the application inadmissible has been established.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
DECLARES THE APPLICATION ADMISSIBLE, without prejudging the merits of the case.
S. DolléN. Bratza
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy