Communal Chambers

The Communal Chambers were two parallel legislative institutions created in Cyprus under the island's 1960 constitution. One chamber represented the Greek Cypriot community and the other represented the Turkish Cypriot community. Rather than functioning as a single national legislature, the chambers were designed to give each community authority over a defined range of religious, educational, cultural, personal-status, and locally communal matters. Their creation reflected the constitutional structure established when Cyprus became independent, which divided certain public responsibilities between the two principal communities while also creating common state institutions. The first elections to the chambers took place on 7 August 1960. The Patriotic Front secured a large majority in the Greek Communal Chamber, while the Cyprus Turkish National Union won every seat in the Turkish Communal Chamber. The chambers' constitutional responsibilities were set out principally in Article 87. These included religious affairs; education, culture, and teaching; personal status; the organization and jurisdiction of courts dealing with personal-status and religious matters; and institutions considered purely communal, such as charitable, sporting, and welfare organizations. Each chamber could also impose personal taxes and fees on members of its community to support communal needs and institutions under its supervision. The chambers additionally had responsibilities connected with municipalities composed solely of members of the relevant community. These included certain regulatory powers, oversight of cooperatives and credit institutions, and supervision of municipal functions where the constitution assigned such authority to the chambers. The arrangement was intended to protect communal autonomy while preserving the broader constitutional framework of the Republic of Cyprus. The system was disrupted by the intercommunal crisis that began in late 1963. After the withdrawal of Turkish Cypriot representatives from national political institutions in December 1963, the Greek Cypriot members who remained in the House of Representatives enacted legislation in March 1965 abolishing the Greek Communal Chamber. Its responsibilities were transferred to the House of Representatives, while a new Ministry of Education and Culture was established to handle educational and cultural functions previously associated with the chamber. The Turkish Communal Chamber followed a different institutional path. In 1967, its members joined with 15 Turkish Cypriot former members of the House of Representatives to establish a Turkish Cypriot Legislative Assembly. The Turkish Communal Chamber was not formally dissolved, but it ceased exercising its powers within the constitutional order of the Republic of Cyprus. Following the division of the island in 1974, its authority was not exercised in the Republic of Cyprus. The chambers therefore remain significant primarily as institutions of Cyprus's early constitutional history and as examples of the power-sharing arrangements attempted at independence.

The Communal Chambers were established as part of the constitutional settlement that accompanied the independence of Cyprus in 1960. The settlement created two parallel bodies: a Greek Communal Chamber for the Greek Cypriot community and a Turkish Communal Chamber for the Turkish Cypriot community. Their purpose was to provide each community with institutional control over areas regarded as especially connected to communal identity, while other matters remained within the common institutions of the Republic of Cyprus. The chambers' authority was defined by Article 87 of the constitution. Their responsibilities covered religious matters; education, culture, and teaching; personal status; and the composition and jurisdiction of courts dealing with personal-status and religious disputes. They also dealt with institutions whose character was considered purely communal, including charitable, sporting, and welfare organizations. The chambers could levy personal taxes and fees on members of their respective communities to meet communal needs and finance institutions under their control. Their constitutional role also extended to certain municipalities, cooperatives, and credit establishments where the relevant powers were assigned to the community institutions. The first chamber elections were held on 7 August 1960. The Patriotic Front won a substantial majority in the Greek chamber, while the Cyprus Turkish National Union won all seats in the Turkish chamber. These results gave each chamber a relatively clear political alignment at the beginning of the republic's constitutional life. The arrangement became difficult to sustain during the intercommunal tensions of 1963. In December of that year, Turkish Cypriot participation in the national political institutions was interrupted. In March 1965, the Greek Cypriot members remaining in the House of Representatives passed legislation abolishing the Greek Communal Chamber. Its functions were transferred to the House of Representatives, and a Ministry of Education and Culture was created to assume responsibility for educational and cultural matters that had previously fallen within the chamber's sphere. The Turkish Communal Chamber was not abolished in the same way. In 1967, members of the chamber joined 15 Turkish Cypriot former members of the House of Representatives to create a Turkish Cypriot Legislative Assembly. Although the original Turkish Communal Chamber was never officially dissolved, it no longer exercised its constitutional powers in the Republic of Cyprus. The island's division in 1974 further separated the institutional systems operating in its two parts, and the chamber's powers have not been exercised in the Republic of Cyprus since then. The Communal Chambers are consequently best understood as historical constitutional institutions rather than contemporary commercial or organizational brands. Their legacy lies in the attempt to combine a common Cypriot state with constitutionally recognized communal self-government in sensitive areas such as education, religion, family status, and local communal affairs.

• 1974

  Powers cease to be exercised in the Republic of Cyprus

  [1]Communal Chambersen.wikipedia.org

  After the division of Cyprus, the Turkish Communal Chamber's powers were no longer exercised in the Republic of Cyprus, although the chamber was not formally dissolved.

• 1967

  Turkish Cypriot Legislative Assembly formed

  [1]Communal Chambersen.wikipedia.org

  Members of the Turkish Communal Chamber joined 15 Turkish Cypriot former members of the House of Representatives to establish a new Turkish Cypriot Legislative Assembly.

• 1965

  Greek Communal Chamber abolished

  [1]Communal Chambersen.wikipedia.org

  The remaining Greek Cypriot members of the House of Representatives passed legislation abolishing the Greek Communal Chamber and transferring its responsibilities to the House.

• 1965

  Education and culture functions reorganized

  [1]Communal Chambersen.wikipedia.org

  A Ministry of Education and Culture was created to take responsibility for educational and cultural matters formerly handled through the Greek communal institutional framework.

• 1963

  Turkish Cypriot withdrawal from national politics

  [1]Communal Chambersen.wikipedia.org

  Turkish Cypriot participation in the national political institutions was interrupted in December amid escalating intercommunal conflict.

• 1960

  Constitutional establishment

  [1]Communal Chambersen.wikipedia.org

  The constitution of independent Cyprus established separate Greek and Turkish Communal Chambers as parallel institutions for communal legislative and administrative responsibilities.

• 1960

  First chamber elections

  [1]Communal Chambersen.wikipedia.org

  The first elections to both chambers were held on 7 August. The Patriotic Front won a large majority in the Greek chamber, while the Cyprus Turkish National Union won all seats in the Turkish chamber.

Constitutional communal legislative institutions and a power-sharing mechanism for Cyprus's Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

• 1967

  Creation of the Turkish Cypriot Legislative AssemblyStrategy

  Background

  The Turkish Communal Chamber's role had become separated from the functioning of the Republic of Cyprus's national institutions.

  Action taken

  Turkish Communal Chamber members joined 15 Turkish Cypriot former members of the House of Representatives to create a Turkish Cypriot Legislative Assembly.

  Aftermath

  The Turkish Communal Chamber was not officially dissolved, but its constitutional powers were no longer exercised in the Republic of Cyprus, particularly after the island's division in 1974.

  Source

• 1965

  Abolition of the Greek Communal ChamberStrategy

  Background

  Following the withdrawal of Turkish Cypriot representatives from national political institutions in December 1963, the remaining Greek Cypriot members of the House of Representatives reconsidered the division of communal responsibilities.

  Action taken

  The House of Representatives passed legislation abolishing the Greek Communal Chamber and transferred its responsibilities to the national legislature. Educational and cultural responsibilities were also assigned to a newly established Ministry of Education and Culture.

  Aftermath

  The Greek Communal Chamber ceased to exist as a separate institution. The Turkish Communal Chamber followed a different trajectory and was later superseded in practice by the Turkish Cypriot Legislative Assembly.

  Source

1. 1Communal Chambersen.wikipedia.org