All effective domestic legal remedies must be exhausted by people claiming compensation or restitution for properties owned in Cyprus prior to 1974 before a case can be filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), lawyer Achilleas Demetriades reiterated on Monday.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, he referred to the Demopoulos case of 2010, where the ECtHR ruled that the Independent Property Commission (IPC) constituted an “effective remedy” for property cases in Cyprus, rejecting complaints of applicants that there were no such effective remedies for Greek Cypriot internally displaced persons on the island.

As such, Demetriades said, “one must first go to the IPC and exhaust the remedies” in the north, before going to the ECtHR as a last result.

With this in mind, he said Greek Cypriots who owned property in the north prior to 1974 currently face a “dilemma”, asking themselves, “should we wait for a solution to the Cyprus problem, or should we assert our rights?

“If they decide to assert their rights, the Cypriot courts of course cannot give them an effective remedy,” he said.

He added, “the IPC has been declared by the ECtHR as compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, but its effectiveness will be examined in each case separately. To examine its effectiveness, someone has to appeal, and then, if it is not effective, go to the ECtHR and expose it.”

He was speaking after two people had attempted to file a case with Cyprus’ court of appeal related to property they own in Kyrenia, unsatisfied that the court of first instance, the Nicosia District Court, had not declared the IPC illegal when awarding them a combined sum of over €70 million in compensation.

The court of appeal rejected not only the complainants’ appeal, but also ruled that the court of first instance did not have the right to award compensation in such cases.

“The court examined these issues and decided that the Cypriot court does not have the jurisdiction to hear cases against Turkey,” Demetriades said, adding that “the appropriate forum for such cases was and is, in accordance with jurisprudence, the competent international courts.”

Established in 2005, the IPC handles claims for compensation, restitution of Greek Cypriot-owned property in the north and land exchanges filed by Greek Cypriot refugees and their descendants.

According to its latest figures, released on October 25, a total of 7,800 applications have been lodged with the IPC, of which 1,869 have been concluded.

The IPC has awarded exactly £482,971,921 (€580,580,546) in compensation and has also ruled for exchange and compensation in three cases, for restitution in five cases, and for restitution and compensation in eight cases.

At the beginning of the year, former IPC chairman Ayfer Said Erkmen said the cost of compensating every single Greek Cypriot for every single piece of land lost in 1974 may top £22.4 billion (€26.7bn).