Summer Program in Eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus)

About the Program

International Dispute Settlement and Conflict Resolution Law Program

The divided island of Cyprus provides the perfect context to study the role that international law and its institutions play in the settlement of international disputes.  Students will have the opportunity to study how international courts and tribunals, arbitration, and diplomatic means of settlement (mediation, conciliation, good-offices and negotiations) are used to address international disputes. 

Location

The first part of the program takes place in Nicosia, in the Republic of Cyprus. Once that part of the program is over, a second, and separate, part of the program begins, which will take place in Famagusta, in the so called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."  Courses will be taken at the University of Nicosia and the Eastern Mediterranean University. 

Highlights

• Perfect match location/theme.

• Chance to meet and discuss ongoing peace efforts with all communities and key players.

• Great tourist destination with pristine beaches and plenty of archeological sites. If that is not enough, it is within easy reach of all major locations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

• Students can participate in visits to local cultural sites and legal institutions such as the U.S. Embassy, UN Peacekeeping Force, the beach of Paphos and archeological sites, and the City of Kyrenia.

• Lectures by local scholars experienced in international dispute settlement and conflict resolution law.

History

Cyprus is an island in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey, west of Syria, Lebanon and Israel, and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (about half the size of Connecticut or 30% larger than Los Angeles County) and one of its most popular tourist destinations. An advanced, high-income economy with a very high Human Development Index, the Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.

Over the centuries, Cyprus has been occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Hittites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans. The British took control of Cyprus in 1878 until it was granted independence in 1960. The main two ethnic groups living on the island are the Turkish Cypriots (north) and the Greek Cypriots (south). In both the north and south, there are also some small groups of Armenians and Lebanese Maronites.

Soon after independence, violence broke out between the two main ethnic groups. A UN peacekeeping mission was deployed to the island in 1964. In 1974, following an attempted coup d'état by Greek Cypriot nationalists, who declared union with Greece, Turkey arrived and occupied the northern portion of the island. The inter-communal violence and subsequent Turkish occupation led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate political entity in the north (the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” - TRNC).

These events and the resulting political situation (the so-called “Cyprus Question” or “Cyprus Problem”) are matters of ongoing negotiations between the two groups and international dispute settlement efforts, by the UN (which still has peacekeepers on the island), the EU and the USA. The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entire island of Cyprus, except small portions that are allocated by treaty to the United Kingdom as sovereign military base areas (SBA). De facto, the Republic of Cyprus is divided into two main parts: In the south, the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, comprising about 59% of the island's area, and, in the north, the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, covering about 37% of the island's area and recognized only by Turkey.  Taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the latter half of 2012 is a landmark opportunity for the Republic of Cyprus, while the TRNC objects to this eventuality unless and until there is a settlement of the Cyprus Problem

The US Government de jure adheres to the internationally sanctioned policy of withholding recognition of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”. There is a US Embassy in the south that represents the US Government throughout the entire island. De facto, the US Government has relations with the “TRNC”, has an office in the north, and does not discourage its citizens to travel there (see “special circumstances section” in this US State Department page).