The State of Cyprus shall be a Republic with a presidential regime,
the President being Greek and the Vice-President Turkish elected by universal
suffrage by the Greek and Turkish communities of the Island respectively.
The official languages of the Republic of Cyprus shall be Greek and
Turkish. Legislative and administrative instruments and documents shall
be drawn up and promulgated in the two official languages.
The Republic of Cyprus shall have its own flag of neutral design and
colour, chosen jointly by the President and the Vice-President of the Republic.
Authorities and communities shall have the right to fly the Greek and Turkish
flags on holidays at the same time as the flag of Cyprus.
The Greek and Turkish communities shall have the right to celebrate Greek
and Turkish national holidays.
The President and the Vice-President shall be elected for a period
of five years.
In the event of absence, impediment or vacancy of their posts, the President
and the Vice-President shall be replaced by the President and the Vice-President
of the House of Representatives respectively.
In the event of a vacancy in either post, the election of new incumbents
shall take place within a period of not more than 45 days.
The President and the Vice-President shall be invested by the House of
Representatives, before which they shall take an oath of loyalty and respect
for the Constitution. For this purpose, the House of Representatives shall
meet within 24 hours after its constitution.
Executive authority shall be vested in the President and the Vice-President.
For this purpose they shall have a Council of Ministers composed of seven
Greek Ministers and three Turkish Ministers. The Ministers shall be designated
respectively by the President and the Vice-President who shall appoint
them by an instrument signed by them both.
The Ministers may be chosen from outside the House of Representatives.
Decisions of the Council of Ministers shall be taken by an absolute majority.
Decisions so taken shall be promulgated immediately by the President and
the Vice-President by publication in the official gazette.
However, the President and the Vice-President shall have the right of final
veto and the right to return the decisions of the Council of Ministers
under the same conditions as those laid down for laws and decisions of
the House Of Representatives.
Legislative authority shall be vested in a House of Representatives
elected for a period of five years by universal suffrage of each community
separately In the proportion of 70 per cent for the Greek community and
30 per cent for the Turkish community, this proportion being fixed independently
of statistical data. (N.B.-The number of Representatives shall be fixed
by mutual agreement between the communities. )
The House of Representatives shall exercise authority in all matters other
than those expressly reserved to the Communal Chambers. In the event of
a conflict of authority, such conflict shall be decided by the Supreme
Constitutional Court which shall be composed of one Greek, one Turk and
one neutral, appointed jointly by the President and the Vice-President.
The neutral judge shall be president of the Court.
Laws and decisions of the House of Representatives shall be adopted
by a simple majority of the members present. They shall be promulgated
within 15 days if neither the President nor the Vice-President returns
them for reconsideration as provided in Point 9 below. The Constitutional
Law, with the exception of its basic articles, may be modified by a majority
comprising two-thirds of the Greek members and two-thirds of the Turkish
members of the House of Representatives. Any modification of the electoral
law and the adoption of any law relating to the municipalities and of any
law imposing duties or taxes shall require a simple majority of the Greek
and Turkish members of the House of Representatives taking part in the
vote and considered separately. On the adoption of the budget, the President
and the Vice-President may exercise their right to return it to the House
of Representatives, if in their judgment any question of discrimination
arises. If the House maintains its decisions, the President and the Vice-President
shall have the right of appeal to the Supreme Constitutional Court.
The President and the Vice-President, separately and conjointly shall
have the right of final veto on any law or decision concerning foreign
affairs, except the participation of the Republic of Cyprus in international
organisations and pacts of alliance in which Greece and Turkey both participate,
or concerning defence and security as defined in Annex I.
The President and the Vice-President of the Republic shall have. separately
and conjointly, the right to return all laws and decisions. which may be
returned to the House of Representatives within a period of not more than
15 days for reconsideration. The House of Representatives shall pronounce
within 15 days on any matter so returned. If the House of Representatives
maintains its decisions, the President ,and the Vice-President shall promulgate
the law or decision in question within the time-limits fixed for the promulgation
of laws and decisions. Laws and decisions, which are considered by the
President or the Vice-President to discriminate against either of the two
communities, shall be submitted to the Supreme Constitutional Court which
may annul or confirm the law or decision, or return it to the House of
Representatives for reconsideration, in whole or in part. The law or decision
shall not become effective until the Supreme Constitutional Court or, where
it has been returned, the House of Representatives has taken a decision
on it.
Each community shall have its Communal Chamber composed of a number
of representatives which it shall itself determine. The Communal Chambers
shall have the right to impose taxes and levies on members of their community
to provide for their needs and for the needs of bodies and institutions
under their supervision. The Communal Chambers shall exercise authority
in all religious, educational, cultural and teaching questions and questions
of personal status. They shall exercise authority in questions where the
interests and institutions are of a purely communal nature, such as sporting
and charitable foundations, bodies and associations, producers' and consumers'
co-operatives and credit establishments, created for the purpose of promoting
the welfare of one of the communities. (N.B.-It is understood that the
provisions of the present paragraph cannot be interpreted in such a way
as to prevent the creation of mixed and communal institutions where the
inhabitants desire them. ) These producers' and consumers' co-operatives
and credit establishments, which shall be administered under the laws of
the Republic, shall be subject to the supervision of the Communal Chambers.
The Communal Chambers shall also exercise authority in matters initiated
by municipalities which are composed of one community only. These municipalities,
to which the laws of the Republic shall apply, shall be supervised in their
functions by the Communal Chambers. Where the central administration is
obliged to take over the supervision of the institutions, establishments,
or municipalities mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs by virtue of
legislation in force, this supervision shall be exercised by officials
belonging to the same community as the institution, establishment or municipality
in question.
The Civil Service shall be composed as to 70 per cent. of Greeks and
as to 30 per cent. of Turks. It is understood that this quantitative division
will be applied as far as practicable in all grades of the Civil Service.
In regions or localities where one of the two communities is in a majority
approaching 100 per cent., the organs of the local administration responsible
to the central administration shall be composed solely of officials belonging
to that community.
The deputies of the Attorney-General of the Republic, the Inspector
General, the Treasurer and the Governor of the Issuing Bank may not belong
to the same community as their principals. The holders of these posts shall
be appointed by the President and the Vice-President of the Republic acting
in agreement.
The heads and deputy heads of the Armed Forces, the Gendarmerie and
the Police shall be appointed by the President and the Vice-President of
the Republic acting in agreement. One of these heads shall be Turkish and
where the head belongs to one of the communities, the deputy head shall
belong to the other.
Compulsory military service may only be instituted with the agreement
of the President and the Vice-President of the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus
shall have an army of 2,000 men, of whom 60 per cent. shall be Greek and
40 per cent. Turkish. The security forces (gendarmerie and police) shall
have a complement of 2,000 men, which may be reduced or increased with
the agreement of both the President and the Vice-President. The security
forces shall be composed as to 70 per cent. of Greeks and as to 30 per
cent. of Turks. However, for an initial period this percentage may be raised
to a maximum of 40 per cent. of Turks (and consequently reduced to 60 per
cent. of Greeks) in order not to discharge those Turks now serving in the
police, apart from the auxiliary police.
Forces, which are stationed in parts of the territory of the Republic
inhabited, in a proportion approaching 100 per cent., by members of a single
community, shall belong to that community.
A High Court of Justice shall be established, which shall consist of
two Greeks, one Turk and one neutral, nominated jointly by the President
and the Vice-President of the Republic. The President of the Court shall
be the neutral judge, who shall have two votes. This Court shall constitute
the highest organ of the judicature (appointments, promotions of judges,
&c.) .
Civil disputes, where the plaintiff and the defendant belong to the
same community, shall be tried by a tribunal composed of judges belonging
to that community. If the plaintiff and defendant belong to different communities,
the composition of the tribunal shall be mixed and shall be determined
by the High Court of Justice.
Tribunals dealing with civil disputes relating to questions of personal
status and to religious matters which are reserved to the competence of
the Communal Chambers under Point 10, shall be composed solely of judges
belonging to the community concerned. The composition and status of these
tribunals shall be determined according to the law drawn up by the Communal
Chamber and they shall apply the law drawn up by the Communal Chamber.
In criminal cases, the tribunal shall consist of judges belonging to the
same community as the accused. If the injured party belongs to another
community, the composition of the tribunal shall be mixed and shall be
determined by the High Court of Justice.
The President and the Vice-President of the Republic shall each have
the right to exercise the prerogative of mercy to persons from their respective
communities who are condemned to death. In cases where the plaintiffs and
the convicted persons are members of different communities the prerogative
of mercy shall be exercised by agreement between the President and the
Vice-President. In the event of disagreement the vote for clemency shall
prevail. When mercy is accorded the death penalty shall be commuted to
life imprisonment.
In the event of agricultural reform, lands shall be redistributed only
to persons who are members of the same community as the expropriated owners.
Expropriations by the State or the Municipalities shall only be carried
out on payment of a just and equitable indemnity fixed, in disputed cases,
by the tribunals. An appeal to the tribunals shall have the effect of suspending
action.
Expropriated property shall only be used for the purpose for which the
expropriation was made. Otherwise the property shall be restored to the
owners.
Separate municipalities shall be created in the five largest towns
of Cyprus by the Turkish inhabitants of these towns. However:- (a) In each of the towns a co-ordinating body shall be set up which
shall supervise work which needs to be carried out jointly and shall concern
itself with matters which require a degree of co-operation. These bodies
shall each be composed of two members chosen by the Greek municipalities,
two members chosen by the Turkish municipalities and a President chosen
by agreement between the two municipalities. (b) The President and the Vice-President shall examine within four
years the question whether or not this separation of municipalities in
the five largest towns shall continue. With regard to other localities,
special arrangements shall be made for the constitution of municipal bodies,
following, as far as possible, the rule of proportional representation
for the two communities.
A treaty guaranteeing the independence, territorial integrity and constitution
of the new State of Cyprus shall be concluded between the Republic of Cyprus,
Greece, the United Kingdom and Turkey. A Treaty of military alliance shall
also be concluded between the Republic of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. These
two instruments shall have constitutional force. (This last paragraph shall
be inserted in the Constitution as a basic article.)
It shall be recognised that the total or partial union of Cyprus with
any other State, or a separatist independence for Cyprus (i.e., the partition
of Cyprus into two independent States) , shall be excluded.
The Republic Of Cyprus shall accord most-favoured-nation treatment
to Great Britain, Greece and Turkey for all agreements whatever their nature.
This provision shall not apply to the Treaties between the Republic of
Cyprus and the United Kingdom concerning the bases and military facilities
accorded to the United Kingdom.
The Greek and Turkish Governments shall have the right to subsidise
institutions for education, culture, athletics and charity belonging to
their respective communities. Equally, where either community considers
that it has not the necessary number of schoolmasters. professors or priests
for the working of its institutions, the Greek and Turkish Governments
may provide them to the extent strictly necessary to meet their needs.
One of the following Ministries-the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Ministry of Defence or the Ministry, of Finance-shall be entrusted to a
Turk. If the President and the 5'ice-President agree they may replace this
system by a system of rotation.
The new State which is to come into being with the signature of the
Treaties shall be established as quickly as possible and within a period
of not more than three months from the signature of the Treaties.
All the above Points shall be considered to be basic articles of the
Constitution of Cyprus.
E. A. -T. F.
R. Z.
S. L.
A. M.
F. K.
ANNEX I
A The defence questions subject to veto under Point 8 of the Basic
Structure are as follows:- (a) Composition and size of the armed forces and credits for them.
(b) Appointments and promotions. (c) Imports of warlike stores and of all kinds of explosives. (d) Granting of bases and other facilities to allied countries.
The Security questions subject to veto are as follows: (a) Appointments and promotions. (b) Allocation and stationing of forces. (c) Emergency measures and martial law. (d) Police laws. (It is provided that the right of veto shall cover
all emergency measures or decisions, but not those which concern the normal
functioning of the police and gendarmerie. )
(b) Treaty of Guarantee between the Republic of Cyprus and Greece,
the United Kingdom and Turkey
The Republic of Cyprus of the one part, and Greece, the United Kingdom
and Turkey of the other part:- I. Considering that the recognition and maintenance of the independence,
territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Cyprus, as established
and regulated by the basic articles of its Constitution, are in their common
interest; II. Desiring to co-operate to ensure that the provisions of the
aforesaid Constitution shall be respected:
Have agreed as follows: ARTICLE 1 The Republic of Cyprus undertakes to ensure the maintenance of its
independence, territorial integrity and security, as well as respect for
its Constitution. It undertakes not to participate, in whole or in part,
in any political or economic union with any State whatsoever. With this
intent it prohibits all activity tending to promote directly or indirectly
either union or partition of the Island. ARTICLE 2 Greece the United Kingdom and Turkey, taking note of the undertakings
by the Republic of Cyprus embodied in Article 1, recognize and guarantee
the independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of
Cyprus, and also the provisions of the basic articles of its Constitution.
They likewise undertake to prohibit, as far as lies within their power,
all activity having the object of promoting directly or indirectly either
the union of the Republic of Cyprus with any other State, or the partition
of the Island. ARTICLE 3 In the event of any breach of the provisions of the present Treaty,
Greece, the United Kingdom, and Turkey undertake to consult together, with
a view to making representations, or taking the necessary steps to ensure
observance of those provisions. In so far as common or concerted action
may prove impossible, each of the three guaranteeing Powers reserves the
right to take action with the sole aim Of re-establishing the state of
affairs established by the present Treaty. ARTICLE 4 The present Treaty shall enter into force on signature. The High Contracting
Parties undertake to register the present Treaty at the earliest possible
date with the Secretariat of the United Nations, in accordance vith the
provisions of Article 102 of the Chapter.
E. A. -T. F.
R. Z.
S. L.
A. M. F.
K.
(c) Treaty of Alliance between the Republic of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey
The Republic of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey shall co-operate for their
common defence and undertake by this Treaty to consult together on the
problems raised by this defence.
The High Contracting Parties undertake to resist any attack or aggression,
direct or indirect, directed against the independence and territorial integrity
of the Republic of Cyprus.
In the spirit of this alliance and in order to fulfill the above purpose
a tripartite Headquarters shall be established on the territory of the
Republic Of Cyprus.
Greece shall take part in the Headquarters mentioned in the preceding
article with a contingent of 950 officers, non-commissioned officers and
soldiers and Turkey with a contingent of 650 officers, non-commissioned
officers and soldiers. The President and the Vice-President of the Republic
of Cyprus, acting in agreement, may ask the Greek and Turkish Governments
to increase or reduce the Greek and Turkish contingents.
The Greek and Turkish officers mentioned above shall be responsible
for the training of the Army of the Republic of Cyprus.
The command of the tripartite Headquarters shall be assumed in rotation
and for a period of one year each by a Cypriot, Greek and Turkish General
Officer, who shall be nominated by the Governments of Greece and Turkey
and by the President and the Vice-President of the Republic of Cyprus.
E. A. -T.
F. R. Z.
S. L.
A. M.
F. K.
(d) Declaration by the Government of the United Kingdom, 11 February
DECLARATION BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
having examined the documents concerning the establishment of the Republic
of Cyprus, comprising the Basic Structure for the Republic of Cyprus the
Treaty of Guarantee and the Treaty of Alliance, drawn up and approved by
the Heads of the Governments of Greece and Turkey in Zurich on February
11, 1969, and taking into account the consultations in London, from February
11 to 16, 1969, between the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Turkey and the
United Kingdom
Declare:
A. That, subject to the acceptance of their requirements as set
out in Section B below, they accept the documents approved by the Heads
of the Governments of Greece and Turkey as the agreed foundation for the
final settlement of the problem of Cyprus. B. That, with the exception of two areas at (a) Akrotiri-Episkopi-Parmali, and (b) Dhekelia-Pergamos-Ayios Nikolaos-Xylophagou, which will be retained
under full British sovereignty, they are willing to transfer sovereignty
over the Island of Cyprus to the Republic of Cyprus subject to the following
e conditions:-
that such rights are secured to the United Kingdom Government as are
necessary to enable the two areas as aforesaid to be used effectively as
military bases, including among others those rights indicated in the Annex
attached, and that satisfactory guarantees are given by Greece, Turkey
and the Republic of Cyprus for the integrity of the areas retained under
British sovereignty and the use and enjoyment by the United Kingdom of
the rights referred to above;
that provision shall be made by agreement for:-
(i) the protection of the fundamental human rights of the various
communities in Cyprus; (ii) the protection of the interests of the members of the public
services in Cyprus; (iii) determining the nationality of persons affected by the settlement;
(iv) the assumption by the Republic of Cyprus of the appropriate
obligations of the present Government of Cyprus, including the settlement
of claims.
C. That the Government of the United Kingdom welcome the draft Treaty
of Alliance between the Republic of Cyprus, the Kingdom of Greece and the
Republic of Turkey and will co-operate with the Parties thereto in the
common defence of Cyprus.
D. That the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus shall come into
force and the formal signature of the necessary instruments by the parties
concerned shall take place at the earliest practicable date and on that
date sovereignty will be transferred to the Republic of Cyprus.
SELWYN LLOYD.
ALAN LENNOX-BOYD.
E. A. -T.
A. M. F.
K. F.
R. Z.
ANNEX
The following rights will be necessary in connexion with the areas to
be retained under British sovereignty:-
(a) to continue to use, without restriction or interference, the
existing small sites containing military and other installations and to
exercise complete control within these sites, including the right to guard
and defend them and to exclude from them all persons not authorised by
the united Kingdom Government (b) to use roads, ports and other facilities freely for the movement
of personnel and stores of all kinds to and from and between the abovementioned
areas and sites (c) to continue to have the use of specified port facilities at
Famagusta; (d) to use public services (such as water, telephone, telegraph,
electric power, etc.); (e) to use from time to time certain localities, which would be
specified, for troop training; (f) to use the airfield at Nicosia, together with any necessary
buildings and facilities on or connected with the airfield to whatever
extent is considered necessary by the British authorities for the operation
of British military aircraft in peace and war, including the exercise of
any necessary operational control of air traffic; (g) to overfly the territory of the Republic of Cyprus without restriction;
(h) to exercise jurisdiction over British forces to an extent comparable
with that provided in Article VII of the Agreement regarding the Status
of Forces of Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty, in respect of certain
offenses committed within the territory of the Republic of Cyprus: (i) to employ freely in the areas and sites labour from other parts
of Cyprus; (j) to obtain, after consultation with the Government of the Republic
Of Cyprus, the use of such additional small sites and such additional rights
as the United Kingdom may, from time to time, consider technically necessary
for the efficient use of its base areas and installations in Cyprus.
(e) Additional article to be inserted in the Treaty of Guarantee
The Kingdom of Greece, the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus
undertake to respect the integrity of the areas to be retained under the
sovereignty of the United Kingdom upon the establishment of the Republic
of Cyprus, and guarantee the use and enjoyment by the United Kingdom of
the rights to be secured to the United Kingdom by the Republic of Cyprus
in accordance with the declaration by the Government of the United Kingdom.
S. L. E.
A. -T. F. R.
Z.
A. M. F.
K.
1 The agreement on Cyprus was aproved by the Greek Parliament
on 28 February, by 170 votes to 118 by the Turkish Parliament on 4 March,
by 347 votes to 139 with 2 abstentions, and by the House of Commons on
19 March with no division, after an opposition amendment criticising the
Government's policy since 1954, had been defeated by 299 votes to 246.
On 10 November 1959 agreement wns reached on the question of executive
authority in the new constitution. On 13 December Archbishop Makarios was
elected first President of the future republic ot Cyprus, he received 70
per cent of the votes. The state of emergency on the island ended on 4
December 1959.
