The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has applied to the Constitutional Court of Turkey for the return of the estates belonging to it formerly. The Patriarchate has owned many estates in Constantinople, which were confiscated by the state after 1973.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has fought for restoring its rights at a row of Turkish courts. Inasmuch as no positive result has been acquired until now, the Patriarch Nurhan Manukyan of Jerusalem has applied to the Constitutional Court.
Let us note that the authorities of Turkey had formerly dissolved “Saint James” foundation, which represented the Patriarchate. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem and “Saint James” foundation are basically the same body, inasmuch as the official name of the Patriarchate is “Saint James” in English and “Mar Jacob” in Arabic. Besides that, the present Patriarch is regarded to be the president of the foundation. This is a phenomenon which is not that much understandable for the Turkish authorities, who consider the aforementioned foundation officially dissolved.
The defense lawyer of the Patriarchate, Ali Elbeyoglu emphasizes that it is impossible to consider “Saint James” foundation dissolved when it exists in an international legal arena with the same name. Besides, the Turkish authorities cannot adopt a decision on the existence of that body, inasmuch as the Patriarchate of Jerusalem functions in foreign countries.
The information given by the defense lawyer makes it clear that Patriarch Nurhan demands to restore the right of Patriarchate to property – over 100 estates, which formerly belonged to “Saint James”.
Let us remind you that lately, Patriarch Nurhan has visited Istanbul with the aim of discussing the documents within the framework of the court proceedings.
Source: Agos