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The London and Zürich Agreements (; ) for the constitution of Cyprus started with an agreement on 19 February 1959 in
Lancaster House Lancaster House (originally known as York House and then Stafford House) is a mansion on The Mall, London, The Mall in the St James's district in the West End of London. Adjacent to The Green Park, it is next to Clarence House and St James ...
, London, between Turkey, Greece, the United Kingdom and Cypriot community leaders ( Archbishop Makarios III for
Greek Cypriots Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greeks, Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest Ethnolinguistic group, ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming al ...
and Dr. Fazıl Küçük for
Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...
). On that basis, a constitution was drafted and agreed together with two prior Treaties of Alliance and Guarantee in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
on 11 February 1959. Cyprus was accordingly proclaimed an independent state on 16 August 1960. After the failure of the Agreement in 1963 and the ''de facto'' military partition of Cyprus into Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot regions, the official Republic of Cyprus, controlled by the Cypriot government, claims that the 1960 Constitution basically remains in force, but the Turkish-Cypriot region claims to have seceded by the
Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus The declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from the Cyprus, Republic of Cyprus by the Assembly of the Republic (Northern Cyprus), Turkish Cypriot parliament on 1 ...
in 1983, which was considered legally invalid by the UN and the so called “TRNC” is not acknowledged as a country by any nation other than Turkey.


Constitutional provisions

The constitution, provided for under the agreements, divided the Cypriot people into two communities, based on ethnic origin. The
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
was to be a Greek-Cypriot, elected by the Greek-Cypriots, and the Vice-President a Turkish-Cypriot, elected by the Turkish-Cypriots. The Vice-President was granted the right of a final
veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...
on laws passed by the House of Representatives and on decisions of the Council of Ministers, which was composed of ten ministers, three of whom were to be Turkish-Cypriots, nominated by the Vice-President. In the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, Turkish Cypriots were elected separately by their own community. The House had no power to modify the basic articles of the Constitution in any respect, and any other modification required separate majorities of two thirds of both the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot members. Any modification of the Electoral Law and the adoption of any law relating to municipalities or any fiscal laws required separate simple majorities of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot members of the House. It was thus impossible for only representatives of one community to pass such a bill.


Aftermath

The United Nations Mediator on Cyprus, Dr. Galo Plaza, described the 1960 Constitution created by the Zürich and London Agreements as "a constitutional oddity" and that difficulties in implementing the treaties signed on the basis of those agreements had begun almost immediately after independence. Within three years, the functioning of the legislature started to fail, and, in 1963, when the fiscal laws under Article 78 of the constitution expired, the House of Representatives split along pure communal lines and failed to renew the income tax upon which public finances depended. In November 1963, the (Greek-Cypriot) President of the Republic, Archbishop
Makarios III Makarios III (born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos; 13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot prelate and politician who served as Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus from 1950 to 1977 and as the first president o ...
, suggested amendments to the Constitution "to resolve constitutional deadlocks". The Turkish-Cypriot leadership, following the Turkish government, called them unacceptable. The Vice President publicly declared that the Republic of Cyprus had ceased to exist and, along with the three Turkish-Cypriot Ministers, the Turkish-Cypriot members of the House withdrew, as did Turkish-Cypriot civil servants. Makarios refused all suggestions that would have resulted in the partition of Cyprus, and negotiations over the problem have still failed to succeed. ''De facto'', Cyprus has remained partitioned for over 60 years.


Treaties of Guarantee and of Alliance

Together with the Zürich and London Agreements, two other treaties were also agreed upon in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. The Treaty of Guarantee was designed to preserve bi-communal consociationalism and independent state of the
Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...
. Cyprus and the guarantor powers (the United Kingdom, Turkey and Greece) promised to prohibit the promotion of "either the union of the Republic of Cyprus with any other State, or the partition of the Island". Article Four of the Treaty of Guarantee provided, "In so far as common or concerted action may not prove possible, each of the three guaranteeing Powers reserves the right to take action with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs .e. bi-communal consociational statecreated by the present Treaty".Treaty of Guarantee of Republic of Cyprus
/ref> In July 1974, there was briefly a Greek-backed
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
in Cyprus. Turkey claimed under the Treaty of Guarantee to intervene militarily. The legality of the invasion depends on whether common or concerted action between the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey had proved impossible and whether the outcome of the invasion safeguarded the bi-communal consociational, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus. In 1983, Turkish Cypriots issued the
Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus The declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from the Cyprus, Republic of Cyprus by the Assembly of the Republic (Northern Cyprus), Turkish Cypriot parliament on 1 ...
, but it has been recognised only by Turkey. The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to be legally invalid and asked for its withdrawal. The
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
has issued multiple resolutions that all states should refrain from recognising the protectorate of Turkey in Cyprus. Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus also signed a Treaty of Alliance.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:London and Zurich Agreement 1959 in Cyprus 1959 in London 1959 in Greece 1959 in Switzerland 1959 in Turkey 1960 in Cyprus 1960 in London 1960 in Greece 1960 in Switzerland 1960 in Turkey Treaties concluded in 1960 Treaties entered into force in 1960 20th century in Zurich February 1959 in the United Kingdom Law of Cyprus Cyprus Emergency Cyprus dispute Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Kingdom of Greece Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of Turkey Cyprus–Greece relations Cyprus–Switzerland relations Cyprus–Turkey relations Cyprus–United Kingdom relations Greece–Switzerland relations Greece–Turkey relations Greece–United Kingdom relations Switzerland–Turkey relations Switzerland–United Kingdom relations Turkey–United Kingdom relations Cyprus and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations Makarios III