Cyprus v. Turkey, No. 25781/94, ECtHR, (Grand Chamber), 12 May 2014

Inter-State application. Turkish military operations on the island of Cyprus have integrated a violation of several articles of the Convention.

 

Art. 1 ECHR
Art. 2 ECHR
Art. 3 ECHR
Art. 4 ECHR
Art. 5 ECHR
Art. 6 ECHR
Art. 8 ECHR
Art. 9 ECHR
Art. 10 ECHR
Art. 11 ECHR
Art. 13 ECHR
Art. 14 ECHR
Art. 17 ECHR
Art. 18 ECHR
Art. 1 Prot. 1 ECHR
Art. 2. Prot. 1 ECHR
 

1. The obligation to protect the right to life under Article 2 of the Convention, read in conjunction with the State's general duty under Article 1 to “secure to everyone within [its] jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in [the] Convention”, requires by implication that there should be some form of effective official investigation when individuals have been killed as a result of the use of force by agents of the State or by non-State agents.

2. The question whether a family member of a “disappeared person” is a victim of treatment contrary to Article 3 of ECHR depends on the existence of special factors which give the suffering of the person concerned a dimension and character distinct from the emotional distress which may be regarded as inevitably caused to relatives of a victim of a serious human-rights violation. Relevant elements will include the proximity of the family tie – in that context, a certain weight will attach to the parent-child bond –, the particular circumstances of the relationship, the extent to which the family member witnessed the events in question, the involvement of the family member in the attempts to obtain information about the disappeared person and the way in which the authorities responded to those enquiries. The essence of such a violation does not so much lie in the fact of the “disappearance” of the family member but rather in the authorities' reactions and attitudes to the situation when it is brought to their attention. It is especially in respect of the latter elements that a relative may claim to be a direct victim of the authorities' conduct.
(The Court is called to rule on the situation existing on the island of Cyprus following the Turkish invasion of 1974 and the proclamation, in 1983, of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The military operation and the subsequent occupation resulted in numerous violations of rights protected by the Convention, against various categories of individuals. The disappearance of Greek Cypriot citizens integrated a violation of Articles 2, 3 and 5 of the ECHR, which is also recognized with respect to the position of the victims' relatives. The division of the island also resulted in a violation, against displaced citizens, of Articles 8 and 13 of the ECHR, as well as of Article 1 of Protocol 1. The living conditions of the Greek Cypriots inhabitants of the region of Karpas, in Northern Cyprus, resulted in a violation of Articles 3, 8, 9, 10 and 13 of the ECHR, as well as of Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol 1. Finally, a violation of Article 6 of the ECHR is recognized to have been perpetrated against Turkish Cypriots, including members of the Gypsy community, living in the northern part of the island.