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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.
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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.
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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.
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The President and the
Vice-President shall be elected for a period of 5 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.
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Executive authority shall
be vested in the President and the Vice-President. For this purpose they
shall have a Council of Ministers composed of sever Greek Ministers and
three Turkish Ministers. The Ministers 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 decision of the Council of Ministers under the same conditions
as those laid down for laws and decisions of the House of Representatives.
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Legislative authority
shall be vested in a House of Representatives elected for a period of 5
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
(NB. 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.
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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.
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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 organizations and
pacts of alliance in which Greece and Turkey both participate or
concerning defense and security as defined in Annex I.
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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.
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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. (NB. 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.
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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 shall be composed solely of
officials belonging to that community.
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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.
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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.
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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 when 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.
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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.
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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 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,
etc.).
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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.
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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.
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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. in 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.
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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 coordinating 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 4 years the question whether or not
this separation of municipalities in the five largest towns shall
continue.
With regard to the
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.
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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.)
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It shall be recognized
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.
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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.
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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.
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One of the following
Ministries -the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, or
the Ministry of Finance- shall be entrusted to a Turk. if the President
and the Vice-President agree they may replace this system by a system of
rotation.
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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 3 months from
the signature of the Treaties.
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All the above Points
shall be considered to be basic articles of the Constitution of Cyprus.
