Governmental system in Cyprus constitutions: A study of Turkish Cypriot constitutions

Every state has a form of government. With the advent of the constitutionalism movement, the existence of written constitutions gained importance. These constitutions provide in different ways for the relations between the legal system they create and the legislative and executive bodies. These relationships are referred to in the social sciences as the system of government. In this study, the topic is discussed from the aspect of governmental systems and the constitutions in which the Turkish Cypriots participate in the history of Cyprus are examined. The Turkish Cypriots joined the 1960 Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus together with the Greek Cypriots and this constitution remained in force for a short period of time. After the 1974 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriots enacted the 1975 Constitution of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus and were governed by the system of government set forth in that Constitution. In 1983, Turkish Cypriots declared their independence under the right of self-determination and drafted the 1985 Constitution of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The system of government established in the 1985 Constitution, which has not undergone any changes to date, is still debated in some circles. Our study aims to examine the systems of government provided for in these three Turkish Cypriot constitutions. In studying the systems of government in Cyprus, we will come into contact, albeit to a limited extent, with other areas of law, without ignoring the fact that our subject is essentially a study of constitutional law. Keywords: Governmental Systems, Cyprus, Constitution, 1960 Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, 1975 Turkish Federated State of Cyprus Constitution, 1985 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Constitution