Loizidou v. Turkey is a landmark legal case regarding the rights of refugees wishing to return to their former homes and properties.[1] The European Court of Human Rights ruled (24 years after she had filed her case) that Mrs. Titina Loizidou, and consequently all other refugees, have the right to return to their former properties. The ECHR ruled that Turkey had violated Mrs. Loizidou's human rights, that she should be allowed to return to her home and that Turkey should pay damages to her. Turkey initially ignored this ruling.[2]
On 22 July 1989 a Cypriot national Mrs. Titina Loizidou filed an application against Turkey to the European Court of Human Rights. Mrs. Loizidou had been forced out of her home during Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in 1974 along with around 200,000 other Greek-Cypriots. During more than 20 years, she made a number of attempts to return to her home in Kyrenia but was denied entry into the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus by the Turkish army.
Her application resulted in three judgments by the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) which held Turkey responsible for human rights violations in the northern part of Cyprus, which is under overall control of the Turkish armed forces.
The U.S. Department of State commented on this case:
The Court also stated expressly that the damages awarded were not compensation for the property per se, but only for the denial of the ownership and use of the property, and that Ms Loizidou retains full legal ownership of her property.
In 2003 Turkey paid Ms Loizidou the compensation amounts (of over $1 million) ruled by the European Court of Human Rights.[4] Turkey has also evacuated her house to return it to her. Ms Loizidou has chosen not to return, as she claimed that there are Turkish occupation troops making her return unsafe. The Court accepted her claim. As a result Turkey will continue to pay compensation to her for denying her the right to enjoy her property.
The case serves as important precedent for judgements in international courts of law regarding the Cyprus dispute. Although several similar cases have been brought to the ECHR are awaiting judgement, two have been concluded in a similar fashion:
Loizidou case was also cited in the 2001 judgment on the interstate case Cyprus v. Turkey.