Supreme Court of Cyprus

Supreme Court buildings

The Supreme Court of Cyprus is the highest Cypriot court. The Supreme Court is responsible for examining whether the laws can be justified by the situation and whether or not they violate human rights. However, due to the constitutional crisis of 1963 and the Turkish invasion of 1974, the judicial system deviates from the system set forth in the Constitution.[1] The Supreme Court has absorbed the responsibilities of the Constitutional court and therefore acts as the ultimate authority in civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional matters. This allows the court to rule on both the constitutionality of the law and with individual constitutional complaints.

The Republic of Cyprus became an independent sovereign republic with a presidential system on August 16, 1960. Before 1960, Cyprus was considered a Crown Colony of Britain and was governed by English common law. As an independent republic, Cyprus drafted a new constitution and ordered the Supreme Court to adopt English case law. However, the Supreme Court rejected this request and, in 1962, adopted the position that English case law did not have binding authority. Instead, the court ruled that it would follow English case law as it "be suitable for Cyprus."[2]

References

  1. ↑ Kyprianou, Despina (2010). Introduction to Cyprus Law and Prosecution System. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 43–71. ISBN 9783642019203.
  2. ↑ Robbers, Gerhard (2007). Encyclopedia of World Constitutions. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc. p. 242. ISBN 0816060789.

External links