Historically, the legal route that Cyprus followed can be divided into six stages, which are intertwined with the historical periods of the island through the centuries and various conquerors. In spite of the fact that modern Cypriot Law has its origin in an extensive variety of different legal systems along with its accession to the European Union, it has preserved its own features.
Cyprus is an independent Republic with a presidential system which means that the President is the head of state and government.
Even though Cyprus is not a unified country (the island is still divided after the Turkish invasion on 20 July 1974), in 2004 the whole of Cyprus joined the European Union. However, there is a main difference among the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. The Greek Cypriot citizens are considered citizens of the European Union, unlike Turkish Cypriots, unless they have travel documents or meet the requirements provided.
Generally, the supreme law of the country is the Cyprus Constitution. After joining the European Union, the Constitution was amended in such a way that the European Occupation would prevail over the Cyprus Constitution, as it was shown in the case of Konstantinoυ.
It is important to mention here that the Fifth Amendment of the Constitutional Law No 127(1)/ 2006 introduced Article 1A of the Constitution which provides that:‘No provision of the Constitution is considered to repeal laws that are enacted, actions that are taken or measures taken by the Republic which become necessary by its obligations as a Member State of the European Union nor obstructs Regulations, Directives or other acts or binding measures of legislation character established by the European Union or from the European Communities or from their institutions or from their competent bodies on the basis of the conditions established by the European Communities or the European Union by having legal force in the Republic.’
- The Hellenic Period
The first period of which legal evidence can be found in Cyprus extends from prehistoric ages to the Hellenic period (-58 BC).There is very limited information on the specific period but there is evidence displaying that most likely the applicable law in Cyprus was not different from the law that existed in Continental Greece at the time and that it was also influenced by eastern legal systems such as Syria and Egypt. For instance, the fact that the city-kingdoms were founded by Achaean settlers of the island, and the arrival of the Athenian legislator Solon in Cyprus, who was entrusted with the development of legislation for the Kingdom of Aenias indicate that there were close relations between Cyprus and mainland Greece. There is no historical data regarding the manner in which a trial was conducted or the rights and obligations of the offenders but it is evident that legal concepts were significantly developed. This is reflected by the tablet of Idalium, which is considered a binding document. The legal system of this period consisted of codified laws and customs. Sentences, such as exile, death, amputation, imprisonment, fine and confiscation of property, were imposed for criminal offences, such as treason, murder, defamation and deceit.
2. The Roman & Byzantine Period
48. The second historical period is when Cyprus was part of the Roman and Byzantine Empire (58 BC – 1119 AD). During this period,Roman law was initially applied in Cyprus and subsequently (after 330 AD) Byzantine Law. The same law was also applied in the rest of the Empire.
3. The Frankish and Venetian Period
Throughout the third and fourth period, the legal development of the island was essentially influenced by the Frankish and Venetian rule (1192 AD – 1489 AD and 1489 AD – 1571 AD). When the Franks bought Cyprus in 1192, they introduced a feudal system of law that was not codified, but was based on customs. The Crusaders appointed committees to determine the applicable law; they organised and collected the customary rules into certain collections of feudal law called ‘Assizes’. Between 1229 and 1244 the ‘Assizes de la Cour des Bourgeois’ was assembled in Jerusalem. The Livre de Jean d’Ibelin was formally adopted in 1369 as the official authority for the law of Cyprus.This period was characterised by the simultaneous application of the law of the subjugators and the law of the conquered. In criminal cases Cypriots could not circumvent the law of the conquerors by resorting to the ecclesiastical courts; cases were heard but inevitably only the law of the Franks and Venetians was applied.
4. The Ottoman Empire
During the fifth period, the Ottoman Empire conquered the island (1571 AD – 1878 AD). The most prominent feature of this period was the wide application of Islamic Law to the island’s central organisation, economics, society and dispensation of justice. There is proof of an administrative body which was connected to Constantinople and Islamic law was applied by the judiciary of Cyprus. For the duration of that period Cyprus was divided into 15 districts and each district had its own Kadi, who was applying customary and canonical law. The citizens of Cyprus could appeal the decision of the district court to the Council of Cyprus in Nicosia before the President of the Council who was the governor of Cyprus. Kadis could report to Constantinople any criminal cases, which they had difficulties deciding, and request assistance.
The fifth era can be further divided into two phases, the period before the Tanzimat Fermani (1571 AD – 1839AD), i.e. before the reforms, and the period after the Tanzimat (1839 AD – 1878AD).
In the period preceding the Tanzimat the criminal system previously in force was completely replaced and new laws were drafted for the purpose of achieving the complete administrative enslavement of the locals. The laws that were applicable at the time were based on Islamic law; the theory on the sentence of that era eloquently reflects this theocratic law. Islamic law at that time indicated that the main purpose of imposing a legal sanction was, first, the atonement of the offender towards God, and second, the retribution of the victim to the offender. This can be illustrated by the fact that, when the judiciary imposed a fine as penalty, it was based on the life expectancy of the victim.
After the Tanzimat, the criminal courts were organised as follows: in the first instance a case was heard by three judges one of which was Greek if the accused was Greek and the offence punishable with a penalty up to 3 months of imprisonment. In the second instance, there were the Judicial Councils, which were established in Nicosia andwere comprised of 6 members, 3 Greeks and 3 Turks.
5. The British Period (1878-1960)
The British took over the island of Cyprus following an agreement with the Otoman Empire for the period between 1878 and 1914. At first, protectorate, the island was annexed by Britain in 1914, becoming a Crown Colony in 1925. As Cyprus was governed by Britain, the British effectuated some legislative activities which caused a gradual replacement of Ottoman law with common law. The ‘Imperial Ottoman Penal Code’, enacted in 1858, was a wide-ranging criminal code which was modeled after the French Penal Code. it was in force until 1928, when the current Criminal Code was presented. In 1879 regional courts, high courts and courts of appeal were established by the British administrators which were envisaged to have jurisdiction over all other sorts of disputes.[5]At the same time, there was a symbolic participation of Cypriots in the exercise of judicial power.
Between 1914 and 1960 there was a complete restructuring of the law and legal proceedings, which occurred because Britain’s aim was to maintain their permanent presence on the island. Indeed, the fact that the Cypriot legal system is based on Anglo-Saxon law is due to the fact that the British succeeded in a period of 88 years to produce a permanent effect – something that the Ottomans had failed to do in 307 years. Law No. 38/1935 completely and formally introduced English law (i.e. common law as well as the rules of equity and statutes that were in force at that time in England) and its extensive principles were applied. The principles of equity, for instance, have clearly influenced Cypriot law, as it is shown in Article 29(1)(c) of the Courts Act of 1960 (Law No14/1960 as amended), which provides that ‘each court in the exercise of its civil or criminal jurisdiction shall applycommon law and the principle of equity, unless another provision is made or will be made under any law applicable or the provisions of the Constitution or any law which shall be maintained in force in the annex (b) of this paragraph as long as they are not incompatible or they are opposing with the Convention.’
Another noteworthy example is the promise of promissory estoppel, as it is explained in the case of Hadjiyiannis. ‘The doctrine of promissory estoppel is to the following effect, that is to say, where by his words or conduct one party to a transaction makes to the other a promise or assurance which is intended to affect the legal relations between them, and the other party acts upon it, altering his position to his detriment, the party making the promise or assurance will not be permitted to act inconsistently with it.’
