The rights of the Greek minority in Turkey have rarely been the subject of scientific discussion, disproportionately small compared to the enormous interest expressed by the press or the general public. The book refers to a particular aspect of minority rights which, although initially seems inaccessible, essentially highlights issues of the formation of the minority itself, its ability to manage its property, and its treatment by Turkish law and politics. Undoubtedly, the Greek minority in Turkey has gone through a difficult path with great losses and difficulties, regarding its human resources as well as its communal immovable property. Today, the circumstances have shaped a new political and legal landscape that is now part of the European experience. However, minority rights still bear burdens, ideological and political in nature, especially when they are associated with large properties.

The study, therefore, focuses on the legal status of minority institutions (vakıfs) of the Greek Orthodox communities in Turkey through a dual axis: their historical evolution and the convergence of Turkish law towards European acquis. Specifically, it examines the restrictions that Turkish governments have persistently imposed in the past, resulting in the gradual alienation of the vakıfs from the communities of the minority, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and other institutions. It also emphasizes recent processes of harmonization of Turkish law with the homogenized European legal order of rights (see the European Court of Human Rights). On the other hand, the Greek Orthodox communities have recently begun to demand and secure structures and functions of internal representation and good governance.

This path towards dual democratization is examined in relation to the course of Turkish law, as well as developments in communal affairs. Ultimately, the book reflects a particularly fertile and dynamic conjunction for Turkish society, as well as for the communal institutions of the Greek minority, which largely remains unknown to the general public.