Although rarely enforced, it was challenged in the European Court of Human Rights by a Cypriot man named Alecos Modinos.
Ironically, Section 171 had been cited by Turkish Cypriot Judge Mehmet Zeka in his dissenting opinion in the Dudgeon case to oppose the Court's invalidation of Northern Ireland's anti-buggery laws.
Judge Zeka had argued that, as a Cypriot, he was in a "better position in forecasting the public outcry and the turmoil which would ensue if such laws are repealed or amended in favour of homosexuals either in Cyprus or in Northern Ireland.
"[2] As Judge Zeka had predicted 17 years earlier, the proposed repeal of Section 171 sparked a huge public backlash.
As a result, the bill decriminalizing private homosexual acts between consenting adults was passed by the House of Representatives on May 21, 1998, just eight days prior to the May 29 deadline set by the Council.