THE GOVERNMENT has prepared an amendment to the law on Turkish Cypriot properties, to allow their return in certain cases.

The bill, which had been kept under wraps because of the sensitivity of the issue, was meant to be approved on Thursday but was postponed until next week.

The current law, as interpreted by court decisions on an appellate level, does not leave room for release of the property as long as the state of emergency is still in force.

After the 1974 Turkish invasion, the Republic put all Turkish Cypriot properties – in the government-controlled areas -- under the guardianship of the Interior Minister, who prohibits their sale, exchange and transfer because of the state of emergency.

Properties have been returned to the Turkish Cypriot owners or they were paid compensation or both, but this practice has not been enshrined in the law.

The ‘classified’ report accompanying the bill said it was deemed necessary “on one hand to deal with cases in which the guardianship status of the property potentially violated the European Human Rights Convention and on the other hand avoid a situation where the law, due to its absoluteness, constitutes denial of property.”

The changes were prompted by a recent case before the ECHR in which the Republic settled to pay a Turkish Cypriot €500,000 as damages for loss of use of one-and-a-half houses (she is co-owner in the second) in Larnaca in which Greek Cypriot refugees are living.

The main changes to the law that would allow the Guardian to release a property concern cases where: the Turkish Cypriot owner lived abroad -- where he went before or after the invasion and continues to live there or will return to live in the government-controlled areas.

Previously only Turkish Cypriots who had left before the invasion could claim their property.

The bill also says that properties whose owners settled permanently in the government-controlled areas, and homes whose owners or families are planning to move into for permanent settlement, are factors that will be considered positively when examining an application.

“The said amendment of the law – which is retroactive – has the potential to prevent the examination of cases by the ECHR before the Turkish Cypriot applicants exhaust the remedies provided by the Republic,” the accompanying report said.

According to the report, a number of Turkish Cypriots appeal directly to the ECHR, without seeking recourse at Cypriot courts, saying that the current law allows restrictions on the right to property.

“The Turkish Cypriot owners consider that they have no chance of success in Cypriot courts,” the report said.

The change will also give time to the government to “gradually” adopt the necessary legal measures in the cases the applicant is not vindicated by a local court, the report said.

However, the report said, if they are vindicated by the ECHR the republic would have to comply with the decision inside “suffocating timeframes” to ascertain that the rights of all Turkish Cypriot owners are not violated and not just the applicant’s.