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16.7.2002

Press release issued by the Registrar

CHAMBER JUDGMENTS CONCERNING
TURKEY, ROMANIA, CYPRUS AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing the following seven Chamber judgments, of which only the friendly settlements are final: [fn]

Section 2

 (6)  Selim v. Cyprus (no. 47293/99) Friendly settlement

On 8 January 1999 Kemal Selim, a Cypriot national, applied to the Municipality of Nicosia to marry a Romanian national, Ion Ramona. On 28 January 1999, he was informed that Section 34 of the Marriage Law did not allow a Turkish Cypriot professing the Muslim faith to enter into a civil marriage.

The applicant complains that he was forced to marry in Romania without any of his family or friends being able to attend. On 14 February 1999, on his return to Cyprus with his wife, at Larnaca International Airport, the immigration authorities refused entry to his wife unless the applicant paid 300 Cypriot pounds (CYP) to cover, if need be, the cost of her repatriation to Romania. The applicant paid. On 31 March 2000 the applicant’s wife applied to the Cyprus Immigration authorities and was granted the status of a resident alien, as she had lived with the applicant as his wife for one year from the date of their marriage. The CYP 300 was returned to the applicant.

The applicant complained under Articles 8 (right to respect for family life), 12 (right to marry and found a family), 13 (right to an effective remedy) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination).

The case has been struck out following a friendly settlement in which 5,080 Cyprus pounds (CYP) is to be paid for any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and CYP 3,000 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in English.)

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The full texts of the Court’s judgments are accessible on its Internet site http://www.echr.coe.int).

Registry of the European Court of Human Rights
F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Contacts: Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15)
ou Stéphanie Klein (telephone: (0)3 88 41 21 54)
Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91

 

The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.

[fn]  Under Article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights, within three months from the date of a Chamber judgment, any party to the case may, in exceptional cases, request that the case be referred to the 17-member Grand Chamber of the Court. In that event, a panel of five judges considers whether the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or application of the Convention or its Protocols, or a serious issue of general importance, in which case the Grand Chamber will deliver a final judgment. If no such question or issue arises, the panel will reject the request, at which point the judgment becomes final. Otherwise Chamber judgments become final on the expiry of the three-month period or earlier if the parties declare that they do not intend to make a request to refer.