The Cyprus Issue and the International Criminal Court

Abstract

Since 1974, the Cyprus issue has occupied the agenda of Turkey and the international community. It has been recently argued that criminal proceedings regarding the Cyprus issue can be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to the 1974 intervention. Regarding this issue, a criminal complaint against Turkish government officials was filed at the ICC on 14 July 2014. The bill of complaint requested the initiation of an investigation into crimes committed, within the Court’s jurisdiction, arising from the civilian displacement and settlement activities (as continuous crimes) of Turkey. On this ground, this study provides a holistic examination of the ICC’s jurisdiction regarding the Cyprus issue and aims to analyze the extent to which Turkish civilians and military officials can be held responsible for the crimes allegedly committed on the Cypriot territory since 1974.

Keywords

Rome Statute, War Crimes, Criminal Responsibility, Civilian Displacement, Settlement Activities

Citation

Zeynep Erhan Bulut, “The Cyprus Issue and the International Criminal Court”, International Relations, Vol. 18, No. 72, 2021, pp. 73-86, DOI: 10.33458/uidergisi.1054548

Affiliations

• Zeynep ERHAN BULUT, Assistant Professor, Çankırı Karatekin University, Department of International Law