Human Rights in Cyprus are protected through the Constitution and through various International Conventions that have been ratified by the State.

As a result of Cyprus’ accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004, Cyprus has undertaken to apply an even stricter human rights protection regime. This is not surprising considering that two of the European Union’s founding principles are “respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law”. In this context, Cyprus’ constant assimilation of the acquis communautaire must undoubtedly be welcomed as “good news” for Human Rights.

As stated, Human Rights in Cyprus are basically protected through the Constitution (which was amended in 2006 to give precedence to EU Law) and various International Conventions. When approved through laws enacted by the House of Representatives, International Conventions acquire superior force to any municipal law.

The Constitution

The relevant section of the Constitution is Part II thereof, entitled “Fundamental Rights and Liberties”. This spans thirty or so Articles (namely, Articles 6 to 35, inclusive), was partly modelled on the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) and guarantees a number of civil, political and social rights. It is worth pointing out at the outset that, according to Article 35, “[t]he legislative, executive and judicial authorities of the Republic shall be bound to secure, within the limits of their respective competence, the efficient application of the provisions of this Part.” In fact, basing itself on, inter alia, Article 35, the Supreme Court of Cyprus in Yiallouros v. Nicolaou (2001) resolved that violations of human rights, even if committed by non-State actors, can give rise to a cause of action against the wrongdoer.

Of the various rights enshrined in Part II of the Constitution, the following are of particular interest:

-Article 7: guarantees the right to life and corporal integrity.

-Article 8: prohibits torture, and inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.

-Article 9: guarantees the right to decent existence and social security.

-Article 10: prohibits slavery, servitude and compulsory labour.

-Article 11: protects the right to liberty and security of person.

-Article 12: provides for the rights of persons accused of having committed an offence. These include the right not to be held guilty of any offence on account of any act/omission which did not constitute an offence at the time that it was committed; the right not to bear a heavier punishment for an offence other than that expressly provided for by law at the time that the offence was committed; and the “double jeopardy” rule.

-Article 13: provides for the right to move freely throughout the Republic and to reside in any part thereof.

-Article 14: provides that no citizen shall be banished or excluded from the Republic under any circumstances.

-Article 15: protects the right to respect for one’s private and family life.

-Article 16: protects the inviolability of a person’s dwelling house.

-Article 17: protects the right to respect for and the secrecy of one’s correspondence and other communication.

-Articles 18, 19: protect the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as to freedom of speech and expression.

-Article 23: guarantees the right to property.

-Articles 25, 26: guarantee the rights to free practise of any profession, occupation, trade or business, as well as the right to freely enter into contracts.

-Article 28: guarantees equality before the law, and, generally, the enjoyment of the rights and liberties provided for in the Constitution without discrimination, direct or indirect, on any ground, unless there is express provision to the contrary in the Constitution.

Other Articles enshrine rights such as the right to education, peaceful assembly, marriage, the right to strike, etc.

International Conventions

Cyprus is currently a party to a number of International Human Rights Conventions, including the following:

• The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (1950) and all of its Protocols currently in force (namely, Protocols 1, 4, 6, 7, 12 and 13)
• The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965)
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and its two Protocols that are currently in force
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
• The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment (1984)
• The European Social Charter (revised) (1996)

Human Rights occupy a commanding position in the daily business of our Office.

As a believer in the protection of the rights of all people, our Office has been a pioneer in the conduct of relevant litigation both at home and abroad. It has also been assigned the task of writing up Human Rights Reports on Cyprus by various international organizations. Additionally, recent developments in domestic law have allowed our Office to expand in the field of Refugee Law and more specifically in the area of preparing and filing Applications for Refugee Status with the national authorities.

Noteworthy cases successfully argued by our Office before the European Court of Human Rights include:

• -Modinos v Cyprus (1993): This was the first individual case ever to reach the Court with Cyprus as Respondent. It was successfully argued that the prohibition by criminal law of homosexual activities between consenting male adults violated Article 8 of the ECHR. The relevant sections of the Cypriot Criminal Code have since been amended to bring Cyprus in line with the Court’s Judgment.
  
  
• -Loizidou v Turkey (1995, 1996, 1998): This was the first case ever to be brought before the Court by a Greek Cypriot individual against Turkey over the human rights violations arising out of Turkey’s on-going occupation of northern Cyprus. It was successfully argued that Turkey’s denial of access to the Applicant’s property in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus fell within the “jurisdiction” of Turkey and amounted to a violation of the Applicant’s rights under Article 1 of Protocol No.1 of the ECHR. The Court subsequently awarded the Applicant 300,000 Cyprus Pounds for pecuniary damages, and 20,000 Cyprus Pounds for non-pecuniary damages over the anguish, helplessness, and frustration caused by this denial. Lastly, the Court awarded her c. 137,000 Cyprus Pounds for costs plus expenses. Turkey eventually paid the Applicant the sums adjudged in her favour. However, to this day, Turkey refuses to allow the Applicant and other Greek Cypriots like her to resume peaceful enjoyment of her property in the Turkish-occupied area.
  
  This notwithstanding, the Loizidou Judgment has facilitated the lodging of hundreds of Applications against Turkey by the victims of the latter’s invasion of Cyprus. Tens of these Applications have actually been filed by our Office. In two of these cases—namely, Demades v. Turkey (1999, 2003) and Xenides-Arestis v. Turkey (2004, 2005, 2006)— the Court has already passed Judgment and has confirmed the essential tenets of Loizidou, finding that the Applicants’ rights under Article 8 of the ECHR and Article 1 of Protocol No.1 have been violated. In Xenides-Arestis the Court has already adjudged damages in the Applicant’s favour. These are of the magnitude of 800,000 euro for pecuniary damages, 50,000 euro for non-pecuniary damages and 100,000 euro for costs and expenses.
  
  -Other important cases successfully argued were Larkos v. Cyprus (1999) (right to home), Alithia Publishing Company v. Cyprus (2000, 2001, 2002) (length of proceedings) and Kolona v. Cyprus (2007) (home and property rights).
  

Future Prospects

Having in mind Cyprus’ recent accession to the European Union, it is expected that the field of human rights protection will become even more central vis-à-vis day-to-day affairs in Cyprus. This implies not only new prospects for the protection of human rights, but also new, and perhaps complicated, challenges. Be that as it may, drawing on its past experience in the field—at both the national and international levels—our Office is confident that it may successfully deal with both.

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