Northern Cyprus
Mixed: civil and common law
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Northern Cyprus has a legal system based on English common law, inherited from the period of British rule in Cyprus, with Turkish influence. Only Turkey recognises it as a state, and its status is disputed, so this profile gives the formal structure.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 1985, the highest law in the territory
- Statutes made by its Assembly, and English common law and equity
- Laws from the earlier period of the Republic of Cyprus that remain in force
- Turkish legal models, for some codes
The main courts
- The Supreme Court, which also sits as the constitutional court
- District courts
- Family courts and other specialised courts
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree, often from Turkey or the United Kingdom, and admission to the Bar Association.
What may surprise you
- Its law is common law, though Turkey, its closest partner, has a civil-law system.
- The island is divided, and the two sides do not share one legal system.
- European Union law is suspended in the northern part of the island.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Northern Cyprus as: Common law, Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance. This territory is shown with the classification of the state it belongs to. Self-declared, recognised only by Turkey; shown with Cyprus's classification.
The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.
Other countries in the same family
Sources
Sources last reviewed: October 2026.
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Northern Cyprus, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
