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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NICOSIA 000045 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2020 
TAGS: ECON PREL CY
SUBJECT: CYPRUS ORAMS CASE; EU COURTS MUST ENFORCE RULING 
OF CYPRIOT COURTS - EU CITIZEN ASSETS FAIR GAME 
 
REF: 09 NICOSIA 315 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Frank Urbancic for reasons 1.5 B and D 
 
¶1. (SBU) On January 20, in a major precedent-setting case, 
the UK Court of Appeals affirmed the decisions of a Republic 
of Cyprus court and a lower UK court that found a British 
couple (the "Orams") guilty of trespassing for having built a 
holiday home in north Cyprus on land owned by a Greek 
Cypriot. The Orams must now vacate the property, "deliver the 
property to its rightful owner," pay back rent for the use of 
the property (about British Pounds 40,000) and legal expenses 
of the plaintiff (about British Pounds 1.5 million) as well 
as demolish the house they built. The most significant aspect 
of the decision is that the Orams' assets in the UK may be 
seized to satisfy the execution of the court decision. 
 
¶2. (C) With somewhere between 10,000-15,000 properties in 
north Cyprus belonging to EU citizens, the vast majority of 
which are on land that was owned by Greek Cypriots prior to 
the Turkish actions of 1974, the effect of the UK Court of 
Appeals in the "Orams" case (reftel) has been a plummeting of 
the sale values of Greek Cypriot-owned land in north Cyprus. 
Real estate brokers in the north tell us that they are 
receiving calls from panicking EU residents seeking to sell 
their properties. There are some buyers who are prepared to 
step in, primarily Turkish Cypriots and Turks who have no 
assets in the EU. Business sector contacts say that the 
property market will take years to recover (although Turkish 
Cypriot titled land values will rise) and the 
already-moribund construction sector will see more 
bankruptcies as a result of this ruling. The Turkish Cypriot 
business sector, already experiencing negative growth, will 
continue to suffer. 
 
¶3. (C) The decision was hailed by the Greek Cypriot media and 
political leaders as an important step to reassert the 
continuing primacy of the rights of Greek Cypriot property 
holders and an end to the "exploitation" of their land in the 
Turkish Cypriot part of the island. President Christofias 
promised the decision would be "properly utilized." The theme 
of EU citizens (especially Britons) "taking advantage" of the 
low property  prices in the north has been a sore point for 
years among Greek Cypriots who believe it was foreigners 
taking advantage of Greek Cypriot misfortune. Lawyers in the 
RoC have been preparing for months to new file lawsuits 
similar to the Orams once the court decision was finalized. 
Among their targets are major hotels, Turkish Cypriots 
resident in London with holiday homes in north Cyprus ("they 
are even worse than non-Cypriots because they have exploited 
the suffering of their compatriots" said one GC  lawyer), and 
the Turkish military whose bases sit on large pieces of prime 
property. 
 
¶4. (C) The plaintiff's lawyer has announced that he intends 
to file suit for trespassing against 60 tourists, EU 
citizens, who were guests at the Dome Hotel in Kyrenia. While 
the amount the tourists would have to pay in the event they 
are found guilty would be small (Euros 100-200) the goal is 
to attack the Turkish Cypriot economy. The attorney told a 
press conference that this lawsuit has no political motives 
and that the Greek Cypriot owner of the hotel is open to a 
business proposition from the hotel's current TC operator to 
prevent the case from proceeding. However, our Turkish 
Cypriot contacts assure us that the TC leaders, and Turkey, 
would never allow "this sort of blackmail." 
 
¶5. (C) A key distinction of the Orams  case is that it was 
not a class action suit or a case against Turkey as previous 
property-related court cases have been. These gave rise to 
the establishment of the "Property Commission" in the north 
to provide a Turkish Cypriot recourse to Greek Cypriot 
property claims (as a means to avoid cases going to the 
European Court of Human Rights by providing a local remedy.) 
With the Orams case as precedent, Greek Cypriot plaintiffs 
can now sue in their own courts and have the subsequent 
decisions for damages executed anywhere in the EU. Turkish 
Cypriots bitterly note that they can not expect justice in 
Greek Cypriot courts and point to the difficulty in getting 
their cases heard in these courts for restitution of their 
property in the RoC (the cases typically are settled out of 
court after years of delays.)  A GC lawyer told us that a TC 
client is suing the GoC for Euros 40 million for land 
"illegally seized without compensation" and that his client 
will not settle. Theoretically, all TC-owned land in the 
south that is being utilized should have rents paid into a 
trust account. According to a recent auditor general report, 
however, there are zero funds in this account. 
 
¶6. (C)  Comment: The effect of the Orams ruling on the 
 
NICOSIA 00000045  002 OF 002 
 
 
reunification talks remains to be seen but is viewed by TCs 
as very negative. Talat's already hard path to re-election in 
April has been made even more difficult as TC interlocutors 
emotionally reactto the court decision by calling for Talat 
to walk out of the talks; one TC businessman (a strong Annan 
Plan proponent) told us "they think they can force us to our 
knees? They can go to hell." Talat's TC critics are also 
pointing to alleged mistakes Talat made in the Orams case to 
demonstrate that he is a weak negotiator and has made the 
economic and political situation of Turkish Cypriots worse 
then it was when he was elected five years ago. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment continued: While some Greek Cypriot 
commentators note that this ruling will do nothing to allow 
Greek Cypriots to actually return to their property in the 
north, the largely triumphalist tone of the media, the 
plaintiff's attorney,  and most politicians leave Turkish 
Cypriots feeling that this is another example of the other 
side claiming they want a settlement but acting in a way that 
demonstrates otherwise. 
URBANCIC