President Tufan Erhürman: The procedural decision has not resulted in any adverse change regarding the effectiveness of the Immovable Property Commission or the property regime in the TRNC

President Tufan Erhürman has evaluated the decision adopted following the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe during which the property issue was considered.

President Erhürman made the following statement:

“By virtue of the decision adopted following the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe held on 9–11 June 2026, during which the property issue was considered, the Secretariat has been authorised to prepare a draft study concerning the interpretation of the property aspect of the European Court of Human Rights’ 2001 judgment (issued prior to the establishment of the Immovable Property Commission in 2005).

In granting this authorisation, the Committee of Ministers’ Deputies did not determine that execution of the judgment had been impeded due to difficulties arising from its interpretation. Instead, it preferred to adopt a procedural decision providing for the consideration of a draft study to be prepared by the Secretariat.

This decision neither undermines our arguments concerning the substance of the property issue nor does it constitute a request for an interpretation from the European Court of Human Rights. At the Committee meeting scheduled for June 2027, any decision seeking an interpretation from the European Court of Human Rights will require a qualified majority, namely the support of at least 31 delegations. By contrast, in the vote today, the authorisation granted to the Secretariat was adopted by simple majority, and some of the countries forming part of that majority voted in favour of both of the different draft decisions.

This procedural decision authorising the Secretariat to prepare a draft does not, under any circumstances, result in the effectiveness of the Immovable Property Commission being called into question.  The Commission was established within the framework of European Court of Human Rights judgments for the purpose of resolving property-related applications and has repeatedly been recognised by the Court as an effective remedy.

During the meeting, the Secretariat and a number of Member States, drawing on the established case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, emphasised that the property chapter should be closed and made interventions to that effect.

Until the matter is revisited at the Committee meeting in June 2027, we will continue, through our engagements with Member States, to explain and defend our legal position.

It is well known to the international community that a comprehensive resolution of the property issue in Cyprus is dependent on achieving a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus issue, and that both the TRNC and the Republic of Türkiye have previously exerted considerable efforts towards that objective, both during the period of the Annan Plan and at Crans-Montana.

The Immovable Property Commission has been recognised by the European Court of Human Rights as an effective domestic remedy, and the procedural decision adopted today has not resulted in any adverse change regarding the effectiveness of the Immovable Property Commission or the property regime in the TRNC.

Our legal and diplomatic initiatives, efforts and engagement concerning property issues — including practices not only in the north but also in the south of the island — as well as other aspects of the Cyprus issue, will continue with increasing intensity.”