|
The enforcement in the UK of a
judgment delivered by a court of another EU country is controlled by
the Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement of
Judgments.
In the case of Linda and David Orams, the lawyer
for Meletis Apostolides, the original Greek Cypriot owner of the
land upon which Mr and Mrs Orams have built their house, has
obtained an order from the Nicosia District Court in South Cyprus,
which is now an EU country, ordering the Orams to demolish the house
and pay compensation.
Due to the fact that the South Cyprus
administration does not have control over the Northern part of the
island, it is not possible for this judgment to be enforced against
the Orams directly in Northern Cyprus - the Orams cannot directly be
prevented from using/enjoying this property and cannot be forced to
demolish it. Instead, the lawyer for Mr Meletis Apostolides is
seeking to rely on the Brussels Convention to enforce the judgment
against the Orams and their assets in the UK.
The Brussels
Convention provides, as a basic principle, that any court judgment
given in any EU country must be recognised in all other EU
countries. However, the Convention also provides certain restricted
grounds upon which a court can deny the judgment recognition. The
most important of these grounds is the so-called public policy
ground. If the UK courts decide it would be against public policy to
recognise the judgment in the UK, there can be no enforcement in the
UK. It is the opinion of the firm that this ground should and most
likely will be applied in this case and the application for
recognition of the judgment of the Greek Cypriot court will be
struck out by the UK courts.
|
Given the complex political
situation in Northern Cyprus, it can be argued that a solution to
the property issues cannot be achieved on a case by case basis. To
permit such a judgment to be recognised and enforced, would be to
undermine the whole effort of the United Nations attmepts to reunite
Cyprus and solve the political issues as a whole. Such a decision
would be a green light for all Greek and Turkish Cypriots alike to
claim compensation on an individual basis and then seek to enforce
this decision in the courts of other countries. This case by case
approach will serve only to complicate the factors dividing the
island, leaving some property disputes settled while others remain
unresolved. Moreover, since enforcement can only be obtained in the
event that the defendants are domiciled in an EU country, it will be
mainly non-Cypriot users of disputed land who are singled out i.e.
British and other EU citizens, leading to arbitrary and
discriminatory results. Finally, the Orams, who purchased the
property in good faith for a legitimate purpose and who are entitled
to obtain a title deed recognised as valid and constitutionally
protected under the laws of the TRNC, cannot and should not be
singled out for the result of a political situation which is
entirely beyond their control.
Naomi Mehmet LLB
Gurkan and Gurkan
|
