Court of Appeal rules for Apostolides in Apostolides v. Orams regarding the recognition and enforcement of a Cyprus court judgment in the UK
Earlier today in the UK, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Claimant, Meletis Apostolides, in the pivotal case Apostolides v Orams.
The Judgment provides for a Judgment of the District Court of Nicosia, Cyprus, to be registered and enforced in the UK. The latter judgment concerns the the Orams couple, which had illegally purchased land situated in the areas outside the control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus and which belongs to Apostolides. The occupation of the aforesaid areas are a result of the Turkish military invasion of 1974 in the northern part of Cyprus. Access to the displaced rightful owners to their properties in the occupied areas has been denied since then.
The Judgment comes following a ruling by the European Court of Justice (Case 420/07, Apostolides v. Orams) after a relevant referral to it by the Court of Appeal on the interpretation of a Community legal instrument, Regulation 44/2001 (Brussels I) on the recognition and enforcement of judgments in the Community.
The ruling is final, meaning that a further appeal to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is not possible.
The Cypriot judgment, which can now be registered and enforced in the Uk, had ordered the Orams couple to:
- terminate the trespass on their behalf over the land belonging to Apostolides;
- Deliver up possession of the land to Apostolides;
- Pay ‘mesne profits’ (i.e., rent) to Apostolides in respect of the period of their occupation of his land;
- Bring down the villa built on Apostolides land; and
- Pay certain sums towards Apostolides’s costs of the proceedings, including the English and ECJ proceedings.
As per the statement of Apostolides’ lawyer: “This judgment has determined in a final way that the legal rights of displaced Cypriots against trespassers, as determined by the Courts of the Republic of Cyprus, can be enforced in the United Kingdom”.
Relevant links
- For a commentary on the proceedings before the ECJ, see this article.
- EC Regulation 44/2001
- The full text of the ECJ Judgment in Case 420/07
- Private International Law lawyers in Cyprus
So does this mean that the Greek Cypriot can return to his home in north Cyprus and the British couple must surrender the land to him?
John, if you are referring to the Judgment of the Court of Appeal discussed in the above post, the Judgment upholds that Cypriot court judgments can be recognized and enforced in the UK pursuant to Community law.
In the discussed case, the Cypriot court had ruled that the defendants had illegally entered the claimant’s property (and therefore illegally purchased such). They also illegally erected constructions on that land and were in every sense trespassing. The relevant Cypriot Judgment was held to be recognizable and enforceable in the UK pursuant to the provisions of Regulation 44/2001 (as it would have been in every Member State).
It means that displaced Greek Cypriots can pursue their legal rights through obtaining a Judgment in Cyprus against the trespassers of their property and, if successful in their court action, take any such obtained Judgment for recognition and enforcement in any Member State of the EU.
can we all do like Apostolides