Cyprus v Turkey

In a landmark judgment delivered on 12 May 2014, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has required the Turkish Government to pay the Cypriot Government EUR 30,000,000 for non-pecuniary damages for surviving relatives of missing persons and EUR 60,000,000 for the damage suffered by the enclaved residents of the Karpas peninsula arising out of the military activities northern Cyprus in 1974 and territorial division of the country. This is the first time the Court has awarded just satisfaction in an inter-state case.

The Court also ruled that there was an ongoing violation by Turkey and the Court’s decision in the case of Demopoulos and Others v Turkey, to the effect that cases presented by individuals concerning violation of property complaints were to be rejected for nonexhaustion of domestic remedies, did not dispose of the question of Turkey’s compliance with the principal judgment in the present inter-State case, which fell to the Council of Ministers to enforce.

Link to ECHR press release: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng-press/pages/search.aspx?i=003-4754196-5782800#{"itemid":["003-4754196-5782800"]}

Lord Anthony Lester QC, Pushpinder Saini QC & Tom Hickman acted for the Government of Cyprus.