Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Cyprus Turkish Foundations Symposium with Legal Dimensions/Approaches, Lefkoşa, Kıbrıs (Kktc), 7 - 09 Kasım 2024
The Island of Cyprus, which remained under the rule of the Byzantine State for centuries in the Middle Ages, came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in 1571, after the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Republic of Venice. The island remained under the administration of the British Colonial Administration since 1878 and witnessed the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. After the 1974 Operation, the Greek Administration de facto ruled the island's south. In the north, respectively, the Autonomous Turkish Cypriot Administration, the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus were established, and the current political map on the island appeared. These political changes affected endowments in Cyprus as the Cypriot legal system. Both endowed lands and structures with have recently become a significant part of the Cyprus Issue. Endowments in the south are matters of concern regarding the protection and development of cultural heritage in principle. Although there is cultural heritage concern in the north, there are foremost issues of ownership of endowed lands, disposition rights on lands, and control of dispositions. However, there is a greater need to address the endowments in Cyprus from a legal perspective. This need is critical commonly in the context of the Cyprus Issue, particularly in defining the general status of endowments in Cyprus. The definition issue has extensions based on relevant legislation, court decisions, and administrative practices. Therefore, one should not ignore the guidance of more fundamental approaches regarding the legal status of endowments in Cyprus because the political change on the island cannot be considered merely as a change of administrators. Historically, one can say that the relevant provisions of Roman Law in the Byzantine period, Canonical Law (Church Law) during the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Republic of Venice in the Byzantine period, Sharia Law in the Ottoman period, and Common Law traditions since the British Colonial Administration also found application areas regarding endowments. Today, pre-Shariah legal traditions regarding endowed lands and structures in Cyprus are no longer on the agenda of legal discussions where legal scholars seek solutions to current legal problems. For that reason, it is necessary to comparatively consider the perspectives of the Sharia Law and Common Law traditions on the current basic concepts, definitions, and status of the endowment phenomenon in Cyprus. However, the interest of legal scholars from Turkey in Northern Cyprus increased due to the strengthening of the socio-economic and political ties of Northern Cyprus with Turkey, especially after the 1974 Operation. Considering that Cyprus followed a different political and legal course from Turkey after 1878, one can say that the Civil Law tradition (of which Turkey is a member) may become increasingly influential on the Cypriot legal system. In this paper, I address the problem of how legal traditions view endowments in Cyprus. First, I will give brief information about the basic concepts, definitions, and statuses of the legal traditions in the history of Cyprus related to endowments. Then, in a broader sense, I will include the understanding of the Sharia Law, Common Law, and Civil Law traditions due to their stronger current and possible influence on endowment law in today's Cyprus. I will trace these understandings in fundamental legislation and high court decisions of endowment law in Cyprus. The Sharia Law tradition's understanding of endowment was widespread in Ottoman Cyprus. Courts applied the provisions of the Sharia Law tradition to the endowments established both before and during the Ottoman period. Endowments remained alive within the Common Law tradition during the British Colonial Administration. Legislators did not replace the basic rules regarding endowments with the norms regarding endowments in the Common Law tradition. This situation has not undergone a radical change after the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus. However, due to the increasing relations of the administrations in Cyprus with countries that belong to the Civil Law traditions, it will be necessary to discuss the possible impact of the understanding of endowment in those countries, especially Turkey, on the endowment law in Cyprus. As long as Turkey has a role in the solution of the Cyprus Issue, the traces of this influence will also show itself in the solution of issues related to endowment law. In this paper, I emphasize the unique historical process and character of endowment law in Cyprus.