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Tuesday, 31 December 2024
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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 06-09-06Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
[01] CYPRUS ORAMS CASEThe Cypriot government said it would make a statement when it was informed on the decision announced in London by the High Court in favour of a British couple regarding the land on which they built a villa in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, belonging to a Greek Cypriot.Lawyer Constantinos Kantounas said he was optimistic that the appeal will be in favour of his Greek Cypriot client Meletis Apostolides, noting that all the written evidence requested by the Judge will be provided. The High Court said it could not enforce the ruling of the Nicosia District Court in November 2004 which had ordered the Orams to return the land, in the Turkish occupied part of the island, on which the couple had built a house. The land belongs to Apostolides, a Greek Cypriot refugee. The Cypriot Court had also ordered the Orams to pay compensation to Apostolides for the loss of use of his property. The High Court ruled that Protocol 10 of the Accession Treaty has ``no effect in relation to matters which relate to the area`` controlled by the occupation regime and that ``this prevents Apostolides relying on it to seek to enforce the judgments which he has obtained in the Cypriot court.`` The application of the acquis has been suspended in the areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control, that is the Turkish occupied northern third of Cyprus. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island`s northern third. Government Spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis, invited to comment on the decision, said the government was not aware of the contents of the ruling. ``As soon as we have it, we will make our position known,`` he added. Attorney General Petros Clerides said that today`s decision is ``not the end of the road`` for Cyprus. He said that decision will be the subject of an appeal in the Court of Appeal in England which has already granted the relevant authority. Clerides said that, based on the convention for the establishment of the European Communities, the Court of Justice of the European Communities is solely responsible for interpreting community law and therefore the case will eventually be referred to this court for final ruling. The Attorney General stressed that once the issue goes before the EC court, any EU member state, including the Republic of Cyprus, will have the right to intervene in the procedure and give its opinion regarding the proper interpretation of the community regulation. Regarding the High Court ruling, Clerides remarked that the English court recognised that the disputed land ``is within the Republic of Cyprus,`` accepted the decision of the Cypriot court and concluded that it has no jurisdiction to review the decision of the Cypriot court on the substance. Clerides further remarked that the English court pointed out that Apostolides has the title deeds to his land and accepts the Cypriot ruling in favour of Apostolides that the Orams were ``trespassers who were to be treated as such.`` The Attorney General also noted the English court rejected the Orams position that recognition of the judgments would be contrary to public policy. Apostolides described today`s ruling as ``wrong`` but expressed optimism over the outcome of the appeal that will be made before the Courts of Appeal. [02] BOT LILLIKAS TALKSIf Turkey wishes to continue its EU accession negotiations, it must normalise its relations with the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 1 May 2004, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Bot stressed.Bot, in Cyprus for a working visit at the invitation of his Cypriot counterpart George Lillikas, said that he came to the island in the light of the October EU progress report on Turkey. Lillikas described the meeting as very constructive, adding that they had the opportunity to discuss Turkey`s EU accession negotiations, as well as issues to promote the Cyprus problem. He added that he expressed the Cypriot government`s views on Turkey`s obligations to meet the EU commitments it undertook, which concern Cyprus as well. [03] CYPRUS UN TURKEYCyprus has protested to the United Nations new mass violations of its national airspace and Nicosia FIR by Turkish military aircraft, during the period 13 June - 18 August 2006.In a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Charge d` affaires of the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the UN Andreas Hadjichrysanthou strongly protested the violations by the Turkish air force, appealing for their immediate cessation. ``Turkey`s policy of non - observance of rules and regulations governing international aviation continues to gravely jeopardize flight safety and perpetuate insecurity and apprehension on the island``, Hadjichrysanthou stated in his letter. [04] HELIOS - COMMISSION HEARINGSAll Boeing planes have a decompression problem and pilots are specially trained to deal with these problems, British pilot Robert Lascelles told the Commission of Inquiry into the causes of the ``Helios`` air crash near Athens on 14 August 2005 that killed all 121 people on board.Lascelles said that at 35,000 feet, pilots have 12 to 15 seconds of ``useful conscience`` therefore he/she must act fast to bring down the plane to 10,000 feet so that everyone can breath normally. According to Lascelles, the German pilot should not have contacted the ground but should have followed the procedure for such cases. ``What they did was abnormal,`` he said, adding that all pilots are trained for catastrophic events in high altitudes and ``if they had done what I mentioned, then the outcome would have been different.`` Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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