|
Cyprus The Criminal Justice System
The courts exercising criminal jurisdiction in the
Republic of
Cyprus were district courts, assize courts, and the
Supreme Court
in its appellate functions. District courts served as the
courts of
first instance for all but the most serious crimes; their
jurisdiction was over any crime with a penalty of up to
three
years' imprisonment, a fine of up to C£500
(Cyprus pound--for value, see Glossary), or both.
Assize courts had unlimited
jurisdiction in the first instance but in practice heard
only a
small percentage of the cases coming before the district
courts.
The Supreme Court heard all criminal appeals but had no
original
jurisdiction in criminal matters. There were no special
courts to
deal with security or political offenses, and civilians
were not
subject to trial by military courts.
The court system in the Turkish-administered area was
similar
to that of the Republic of Cyprus. In district courts, a
judge
sitting alone had jurisdiction to try summarily all
offenses
punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three years.
Assize
courts, composed of three judges, had jurisdiction to try
offenses
punishable with more than three years imprisonment. The
Supreme
Court dealt with criminal appeals from assize courts and
district
courts, but did not exercise initial jurisdiction in
criminal
matters except when, sitting as the Supreme Council of
Judicature,
it might try the president for treason or the prime
minister and
other ministers for charges preferred by the Legislative
Assembly.
District courts of the Republic of Cyprus sat
permanently,
consisted of one judge each, and conducted exclusively
summary
trials held immediately after preliminary inquiries.
Assize courts
met three times a year in each judicial district and were
each
composed of three judges chosen from the district court.
Assize
courts heard preliminary inquiries, or trials of
information, after
which the accused could be discharged or bound over for
trial.
Trial procedure was based on English common law and was
identical
in both courts: the charge was read, the accused entered a
plea,
the prosecution presented witnesses and evidence, the
defense
presented its case, closing statements were made, and the
verdict
and sentence were handed down. Cases were generally tried
before
judges, although a request for a jury trial was usually
granted.
Within ten days of the pronouncement of sentence, the
accused
could appeal any case involving a sentence of imprisonment
or a
fine over C£20. The accused could appeal either a
conviction or a
sentence; the prosecutor could also appeal a sentence or,
from a
district court, a judgment. All appeals went to the
Supreme Court
and had to be heard by at least three of its seven
members. The
Supreme Court had wide latitude in its appeal findings: it
could
increase, decrease, or modify a sentence; it could acquit
or
convict in overruling a lower court; or it could remand a
case to
the lower court for retrial.
Defendants had the right to be present at their trials,
to be
represented by counsel, to be provided with a public
defender if
unable to afford a lawyer, to confront witnesses, and to
present
evidence in their own defense. According to the Country
Reports on
Human Rights Practices published annually by the United
States
Department of State, freedom from arbitrary arrest and
detention
were provided by law and respected in practice by both the
Government of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot authorities.
Preventive detention was not legally authorized, and was
not
reported in practice. Under the Greek Cypriot system, no
one could
be held for more than one day for investigation of a crime
without
referral of the case to the courts for extension. Most
periods of
investigative detention did not exceed eight or ten days
before
formal charges were filed. Attorneys had free access to
detainees.
Punishments allowed by law included death by hanging,
imprisonment up to life, whipping, and fines. Criminal
punishments
as actually implemented were light. The death penalty,
which could
be handed down for premeditated murder, high treason,
piracy, and
certain capital offenses under military law, was in
practice
commuted by the president of the republic. The punishment
of
whipping was not imposed in practice. The few long prison
sentences
handed down by Greek Cypriot courts were usually shortened
by
pardons or parole actions. The vast majority of
punishments for
criminal convictions were in the form of fines.
Prisoners in the Republic of Cyprus were housed in the
Nicosia
Central Prison. The prison population was very low. In
1990, of 260
inmates, 65 were aliens. Thus, although foreigners
constituted only
1 percent of the population, they accounted for 25 percent
of the
prisoners. Most of these were Middle Easterners convicted
of drug
trafficking.
Both the Cyprus constitution and the basic document
governing
the Turkish Cypriot community specifically prohibited
torture. In
both communities freedom from cruel, unhuman, or degrading
treatment was provided by law and respected in practice.
Adequate
health care was provided in detention facilities, and
diets were
considered normal. Family members were permitted monthly
visits
after conviction, and attorneys could visit at any time.
* * *
The Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot
authorities
release few details on the size, equipment, organization,
and
deployment of troops at their disposal. Their public
statements
tend to minimize the strength of their own forces and to
exaggerate
the strength of the other side. Estimates in the foregoing
section
rely primarily on data found in The Military Balance,
1989-1990 published by the International Institute for
Strategic Studies, supplemented by reports in Jane's
Defence
Weekly. The article on Cyprus by Gwynne Dyer in
World
Armies (1983 edition) provides additional particulars
on the
National Guard and other military contingents, although
its
information on Turkish and Turkish Cypriot forces is
limited. An
interview with Defense Minister Aloneftis, reported by
Mary Ann
Weaver in the New Yorker, reveals numerous details
on the
defense preparations of the Greek Cypriot forces as of
1990. A
study by Keith Kyle on Cyprus, published by the Minority
Rights
Group in London, is a concise but balanced review of
politico-military events through 1984. The international
strategic
dimensions of the Cyprus dispute are analyzed by Robert
McDonald in
The Problem of Cyprus in the Adelphi Papers series.
The role
of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus
(UNFICYP)
during its quarter century of peace-keeping is treated by
Alan
James in "The UN Force in Cyprus" in the journal
International
Affairs. (For further information and complete
citations,
see
Bibliography.)
Data as of January 1991
|
