by TRACYJ » Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:40 pm
LAPTANIGE,
Not sure if you have read this but if not it may be of interest to you.
THE HEADLINE READS>
A Sussex couple seeking to keep their dream holiday villa in northern Cyprus have won their High Court battle.
Linda and David Orams, from Hove, built their property in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus four years ago after buying the plot with retirement funds.
They were taken to court by Meletios Apostolides, who said his family owned the land, near Kyrenia, in the 1970s.
He had insisted that either the villa was knocked down or the Orams handed their property in Sussex over to him.
Mr Orams, 61, and his wife, 59, spent their £160,000 savings on buying the plot and building the villa and pool.
'Substantial victory'
They bought the land from the registered owner in accordance with the laws and land registry system of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) - which was declared after Turkish troops invaded the area in 1974.
But Mr Apostolides, a Greek Cypriot, insisted the land was rightfully his because his family had been uprooted from it by the Turkish invasion.
A statement issued on behalf of the couple said the judgment was a "total vindication" of their position.
It said: "It is a substantial victory in a battle by them to maintain and retain their retirement home and their home in England.
"The judgment allows others in the same position to invest in TRNC without the threat of enforcement of judgments rendered in the Republic of Cyprus in the EU."
Their counsel, Cherie Booth QC, had argued that the case raised a matter of fundamental importance for people who lived in the Turkish-controlled region in relation to property dealings.
Mr Justice Jack's ruling that a judgement obtained against the retired couple in Nicosia was not enforceable in the English courts followed a four-day hearing at the High Court in London in July.
I am told that Mr Apostolidis has also been ordered to pay 75% of the court costs, which are estimated at £650,000, and one e-mail suggests that the Orams could now pursue him in the EU court for possession of his property if he does not pay. Me thinks that the governement in the South was probably funding him anyway.
It is also noticeable that Mr Justice Jack mentioned the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in his ruling, does this mean recognition? My guess is that they might just be a little unhappy across the border this morning.