Number of Greek Cypriots resorting to IPC has plummeted, Hasikos says

Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos said on Wednesday that measures taken by the government to discourage Greek Cypriots from resorting to the immovable property commission (IPC) in the north had dropped dramatically.

“The government`s policies to reduce the number of Greek Cypriots who resort to the immovable property commission in the occupied areas to sell their properties, have yielded results,” he said.

In statements after the cabinet meeting, Hasikos said that in 2013 the number of Greek Cypriot applications to the commission was 1,700, while in 2014 the number dropped to 372.

He added that the Cabinet had decided on Wednesday that Greek Cypriots who had properties in the north could sell them to other Greek Cypriots without any transfer fees.

This decision, he said would be sent to the House for approval.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in 2010 that the IPC constituted an effective domestic remedy to address property claims by Greek Cypriots. (CNA)

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.