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Constitution
The Constitution of the TRNC was prepared by the
Constituent Assembly set up after the declaration of
independence on 15 November 1983 and approved by the
Turkish Cypriot electorate on 5 May 1985 with a majority
of 70.16 percent. The TRNC Constitution is similar to
the 1975 Constitution of the Turkish Federated State of
Cyprus but it has a number of new provisions regulating
the needs of the new Republic. It has 164 articles and
13 transitional articles.
The Constitution envisages
a parliamentary democracy. Sovereignty is vested in the
people comprising the citizens of the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus and is exercised by authorized organs
in the name of the people. No organ or authority can
exercise any State authority which does not emanate from
the Constitution. Article 7 provides for the supremacy
of the Constitution.
The Constitution contains
elaborate provisions guaranteeing basic rights and
liberties. Examples of these rights are: the right to
equality, the right to life and corporal integrity, the
right to liberty and security of a person, the right of
access to the court and the right to a fair and public
hearing within a reasonable time by independent and
impartial courts, and rights of convicted persons. Other
articles contain a number of economic and social rights.
Torture is prohibited. The right to privacy of life,
inviolability of the dwelling house, confidentiality of
correspondence, the right to free movement and
residence, freedom of science and art, freedom of the
press, and freedoms of assembly and association are also
secured by provisions which reflect the democratic
characteristics of the State.
In comparison with the
1975 Constitution, the 1985 Constitution contains more
detailed provisions to protect fundamental human rights
and freedoms. For instance, capital punishment for
premediated murder, provided for under the Criminal
Code, is abolished by transitional Article 13. Article
15 declared that capital punishment can be imposed only
by law in cases of treason during wartime, acts of
terrorism and piracy jure gentium, and for repeated
murders. Even in these instances no execution of capital
punishment can be carried out unless the Legislative
Assembly decides so under the provisions of Article 78.
New economic and social rights have also been
formulated, such as the right to protection from hunger,
protection of the unemployed and needy, protection of
the consumer, and the development of sports. There are
elaborate provisions as to citizenship which also
preserve acquired rights.
Restrictions and
limitations which may be imposed by law on the exercise
of these rights and liberties are set out specifically
in each article. Such restrictions can, generally
speaking, be imposed by law for purposes of national
security, protection of the rights of others, and for
the maintenance of democratic institutions.
House of
Parliament
The Constitution states that the sovereignty rests
in the people comprising the citizens of the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus, without condition or
reservation. The Assembly of the Republic is the place
where the people, through their elected representatives,
exercise this sovereignty and is the symbol of the
independence and freedom of the Turkish Cypriot People.
The legislative powers of the State are exercised by
the Legislative Assembly composed of fifty deputies
elected for a period of five years. The Assembly has the
power to enact laws, to exercise control over the
Council of Ministers and the Ministers, to debate and
approve bills in connection with the budget, to give
general and special amnesty, and to decide whether death
penalties imposed by the courts should be carried out.
It also has the power to ratify international
agreements.
The Assembly may, but only by absolute
majority of the total number of its members, decide on
its dissolution and the holding of general elections. In
case of governmental crisis, the President is empowered
to dissolve the Assembly and hold new elections if and
when it becomes impossible to appoint a Council of
Ministers, having the support of the Assembly, within a
period of sixty days. If within a period of one year the
council of Ministers cannot obtain a vote of confidence
or is defeated three times by a motion of no-confidence
the President may dissolve the Assembly and decide to
hold elections. The President may, after certain
consultations, submit to a referendum issue of
dissolving the Assembly.
Declaration of war and
authorization to send armed forces to foreign countries,
or to allow foreign armed forces to be stationed in the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, are rights vested
in the Assembly, but if the country is the victim of
sudden armed aggression and is not possible for the
Assembly to convene, the President of the Republic is
also able to decide on the use of the armed
forces.
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