QUALIFICATIONS
Attorney Constantinos Manolis is a graduate of the Law Department of the Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Member: Cyprus Bar Association, Paphos Bar Association, International Bar Association, London, U.K, Associate Member: American Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Practising Lawyer, at all Cyprus’ Courts jurisdictions.

 

AREAS OF PRACTICE

Probate Law, Administration of Estates, Immovable Property Law, Real Estates, Family Law, Defamation, Criminal Law, Debt Collection, Traffic Accidents & Compensation, Civil Offends, Formation of Companies, General Litigation.

THE CLIENT

We recognise that each of our clients is unique and understand their objectives effectively by means of fast, clear and practical legal advice and action. We believe and try to promote the principles of justice, freedom and human rights and we act towards the development of the legal profession.

 

ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES

As estates' administrators we administer the estates of the deceased according to the law, pay the debts of the deceased, collect and distribute the assets to the heirs and give accounts to the Court.  The Probates (Re-sealing) Law makes special provisions for persons who die in the United Kingdom or any other Commonwealth   country leaving a will there and who at the time of their death, also had property in Cyprus. According to this law, the will of such   persons may be re-sealed in Cyprus and an administrator may be appointed by the Court to administer their estate in Cyprus.

 

ACQUISITION OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY IN CYPRUS BY FOREIGNERS

Foreigners who purchase immovable property in Cyprus follow the general rules regulating such transactions and are also obliged to adhere to special formalities and are faced with certain   restrictions which aim to the proper control of investments by foreigners, the protection of foreign investors, the implementation of the Exchange Control Law, etc.

NORTH CYPRUS PROPERTY

 

BUYING PROPERTY IN NORTH CYPRUS IS ILLEGAL AND INVALID

 

Entering into a "deal" for the purchase of immovable property belonging to Greek Cypriots situated in the area of Cyprus under Turkish military occupation constitutes an illegal act which could expose the "buyer" to grave legal and financial consequences. In fact, such "buyers" who essentially "purchase" property which does not belong to the "seller" run the risk of being sued at any time by the Greek Cypriot rightful owners, either before the courts of the Republic of Cyprus or before competent national courts abroad for trespass or conspiracy to commit trespass.

The purchase of immovable property in the Turkish occupied areas is an illegal and invalid act. Consequently, if foreign citizens have bought immovable property in occupied north Cyprus, they have fallen victim to crooks trying to obtain gains by trading in Greek Cypriot properties in the north. It must be stressed that anyone buying land from an illegal owner will not be secure and at the end will lose his or her money. According to the Immovable Property (Transfer and Mortgage) Law No. 9 of 1965 as amended to date, all transfers of immovable property must be made by the competent District Land Officers, otherwise they are invalid and the ownership (title deed) of the transferred immovable property does not come into the hands of the purchase.

Moreover, for foreign nationals to obtain immovable property in Cyprus, an approval by the Council of Ministers is required. In the last two years, this approval has been assigned, according to the relevant law, to the various District Officers.

One should be aware that if these procedures are not followed, any purchase of land in the occupied part of Cyprus would be invalid and will result in the loss of money.

Consequently, people who have purchased immovable property cannot be considered as bona fide buyers because they have trusted those who violated a foreign land and accepted their argument that the Turkish army would never withdraw from north Cyprus.

LEGAL ASPECT

International organisations and treaties protect the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right of ownership.

The United Nations Security Council and General Assembly have repeatedly stressed, in several of their resolutions on Cyprus, the violation of human rights by the Turkish occupation forces. In particular, the UN General Assembly, through its resolution 37/253 (13/5/1983), "calls for the restoration and respect of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, including the freedom of movement, the freedom of settlement and the right to property."

Moreover, the European Court of Human Rights, in its decision of 18 December 1996, on the appeal by a Greek Cypriot refugee from Kyrenia Mrs. Titina Loizidou against Turkey, concluded that Turkey violated the ownership rights of Mrs. Loizidou by preventing her from enjoying her property in Kyrenia.

The same Court, having examined the Fourth Interstate Appeal of Cyprus against Turkey, ruled on 10 May 2001, by 16 votes for and one against - that of Turkey - that Turkey is committing a "continuous violation of Article one of Protocol No.1 (protection of property), because the Greek Cypriot land owners in north Cyprus are deprived of their right to free access and control, use and enjoyment of their property as well as any compensation for the interference with their property rights (paragraph 189)."

The Court also decided "the Republic of Cyprus remains the sole legal Government of Cyprus. This means that the Republic of Cyprus continues to maintain full legal rights over its entire area and population, albeit temporarily hindered from exercising such rights in the occupied areas due to the use of military violence".

As a result, no so-called "authority" in occupied north Cyprus has jurisdiction to perform administrative acts on any issue including the transfer of property ownership. This is the message sent to the international community and to Britain in particular, because of a report in the "Observer" newspaper on 19 May 2002, which said that more and more Britons were lining up to buy houses and plots of land in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus at very low prices. If there is truth in the report, such sales are illegal and invalid, and the buyers not only lost their money but also committed a criminal offence by violating the right of ownership of the legal owners.