ECHR awards Cypriot company more than €8m in land appropriation dispute

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has awarded compensation in excess of €8m to a Cypriot company in a land appropriation dispute with the Republic of Cyprus originally dating back to the early 1970s.

The ECHR notified in writing its judgment in the case on Tuesday.

Michael Theodosiou Ltd, the company which took recourse to the ECHR, owned 4,462 square metres of immovable property located near the seaside in Limassol.

The case concerned the compulsory purchase of the property. The decision to acquire the property was taken in July 1972, but the transfer only took place in 1995.

In accordance with the domestic law on compulsory acquisition, the level of compensation to be paid was based on the value of the property at the time the decision was taken in 1972 rather than its value in 1995.

According to the judgment, “relying on Article 6/1 (right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicant company complained about the excessive length of the expropriation proceedings concerning its property.

“The company also claimed that expropriation proceedings and the amount of compensation paid more than 30 years after the start of proceedings had violated the company’s rights under Article 1 (protection of property) of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.”

In its principal judgment of January 15, 2009 the ECHR held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6/1 on account of the excessive length, approximately 11 years and seven

months, of the proceedings.

It also found that there had been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 and that the question of the application of Article 41 (just satisfaction) was not ready for decision.

Tuesday’s judgment concerned the question of just satisfaction.

The ECHR awarded the company €8.75m (pecuniary damage), €6,400 (non-pecuniary damage),

and €23,445 (costs and expenses).

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