Entrenching Hegemony in Cyprus: The Doctrine of Necessity and the Principle of Bicommunality

33 Pages Posted: 4 Dec 2020

See all articles by Nasia Hadjigeorgiou

Nasia Hadjigeorgiou

University of Central Lancashire

Nikolas Kyriakou

European University Institute

Date Written: October 22, 2019

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between law and exception by focusing on the specific case of Cyprus. It argues that the Cypriot judiciary was able to address the exceptional situation with which it was faced – the withdrawal of Turkish Cypriots from their governmental positions, thus rendering the state unable to function in accordance with the Constitution – by devising and relying on the legal doctrine of necessity. While reliance on the doctrine was indeed a necessary response to the calamity that faced the country in 1963, its contradictory and opportunistic application since then has resulted in the entrenchment of power of the Greek Cypriot majority to the detriment of other minority groups. On the one hand, the Greek Cypriot legislature has restricted minority group rights by arguing that the special political circumstances that exist on the island justify the departure from constitutional protections through the doctrine of necessity. On the other, and in cases where the doctrine was used as a tool to promote, rather than restrict, human rights, the argument has been that any limitations on these rights are mandated by the Constitution itself, whose relevant provisions are impossible to amend.

Keywords: Cyprus; doctrine of necessity, principle of bicommunality, constitutional amendments

Suggested Citation

Hadjigeorgiou, Nasia and Kyriakou, Nikolas, Entrenching Hegemony in Cyprus: The Doctrine of Necessity and the Principle of Bicommunality (October 22, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3716905 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3716905

Nasia Hadjigeorgiou (Contact Author)

University of Central Lancashire ( email )

The Lancashire Law School
Corporation Street
Preston, PR1 2HE
United Kingdom

Nikolas Kyriakou

European University Institute ( email )

Via Bolognese 156 (Villa Salviati)
50-139 Firenze
ITALY

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