Eroglu: Annan Plant; Varosha is part of a comprehensive

Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (06.06.13) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has argued that the Annan Plan was not a solution plan for Cyprus and that in the contrary it was a plan which would create unrest. Replying to the questions of Akademi Politik magazine, Eroglu argued that the important thing right now is what has been discussed with the Greek Cypriot side during the ongoing process since 2008.

He noted: "The fundamental issue we put emphasis on is to make an agreement having as starting point the existing realities in Cyprus. Otherwise new areas of conflict will come up and what you call agreement will be returned into a document which creates the ground for conflict".

Replying to a question on the Annan Plan, Eroglu alleged: "The Annan Plan belongs to the past. Of course, it is possible to be benefited from all the documents prepared until today, from all the framework agreements. However, as it is written in the Annan Plan itself, it has ceased to exist because it was rejected by one of the sides in the referendum. In spite of the fact that the current President of the Greek Cypriot Administration Nikos Anastasiades had carried out a 'yes' campaign during the referendum process for the Annan Plan in 2004, now he is in a position of being the main opponent of the Annan Plan. The National Unity Party under my leadership in 2004, had carried out a campaign for the 'no' vote. In my view, the Annan Plan is not a solution plan. On the contrary, it was a plan that would create unrest".

Eroglu alleged that two "states" exist now in Cyprus, even though the "TRNC", breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus, is recognized only by Turkey and claimed: "No one can change this reality. Two states are living side by side at the moment. We will see. I repeat: A solution is possible having as starting point the existing realities in Cyprus".

Asked to comment on the proposal as regards the return of the occupied fenced city of Varosha to its legal Greek Cypriot owners and the opening of the occupied Famagusta port under the auspices of the EU, Eroglu alleged:

"The issue of Varosha has come many times onto the agenda in the one way or the other, but at the moment for us it is an issue that should be included in the comprehensive solution. The view put forward by motherland Turkey on the issue of the opening of the ports is the lifting of the embargo imposed by the Greek Cypriots for a port in the TRNC in return for the opening of a port in Turkey for the Greek Cypriot side. If they come to this point, it will happen, if not, no conclusion could be reached".

Annan , Cyprus , Eroglu , Turkey , Varosha

ECHR judge Corneliu Barsan

ECHR judge Corneliu Barsan said prosecutors who searched his home and confiscated his wife's computer and documents violated the Vienna Convention, which covers both him and his spouse, Gabriela.
But legal advice from the country's top magistrate council said the search was legal as immunity is not granted to judges for their own benefit or to hamper the course of justice. A final vote on the legality of the move will be taken by the magistrates' council on Tuesday.

The vote is set to be closely watched by the European Commission, which has repeatedly criticised the council for being too lenient with misbehaving judges. Romania, as well as Bulgaria, are still being monitored by the EU executive on how they deal with corruption and organised crime. This is also the reason why entry into the border-free Schengen area was delayed indefinitely by the Netherlands and Finland last month.

Gabriela Barsan, who heads the administrative and fiscal litigation department in Romania's top appeals court, is accused - together with a subordinate - of having received jewellery, plane tickets and expensive restaurant dinners in exchange for favourable verdicts. The businessman who allegedly paid the bribes, Gabriel Chiriac, has claimed that he gave them jewellery "out of friendship", Romania Libera newspaper reported.

Case-Law , Cyprus , echr , Economic , European , International , legal , news , Political , Romania

Costas Paraskeva, a human rights lawyer in Cyprus

This week a new book on the relationship between the European Court's reforms and a better domestic implementation of the Convention has been published by Intersentia. Costas Paraskeva, a human rights lawyer in Cyprus, has written 'The Relationship Between Domestic Implementation of the ECHR and the Ongoing Reforms of ECtHR' based on his PhD thesis defended at London Metropolitan University.

This is the abstract: The European Court of Human Rights has become a “victim of on going reforms”. Continuous efforts to streamline and reinforce the system have proved inadequate in managing the challenge of its ever-increasing caseload. The consensus is that further reforms to the European Convention on Human Rights mechanisms are necessary in order to cope with the serious influx of cases from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe.

This book analyses the set of five Recommendations referred to in the 2004 Declaration of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to encourage member states to take effective domestic steps in ensuring appropriate protection of the Convention rights at the domestic level, in full conformity with the principle of subsidiarity. It also traces and evaluates the impact of the Convention in the domestic legal orders of Cyprus and Turkey and assesses, comparatively, the effective implementation of the May 2004 Recommendations in these two member states.

This book demonstrates how efforts to secure the survival and effective operation of the Court by reducing the ever increasing number of individual applications, must primarily be undertaken at national level so that the burden to comply with the Convention is carried by the member states in the first instance. The 2004 Recommendations, which address the source of the problem, are appropriate prescriptions for a healthy future and constitute a technical vehicle for implementing the Convention in the domestic legal orders of member states. These Recommendations constitute guidelines stemming directly from the Convention and are therefore invaluable in assisting member states in the pursuit to improve the protection of human rights “at home”.

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