The Government
of the Republic of Cyprus and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, jointly referred to as ‘the Governments’,
RECALLING the
Exchange of Notes between the Governments concerning the administration of the
Sovereign Base Areas, dated 16 August 1960, and the declaration attached thereto
(‘The Declaration’) by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland;
NOTING that Her
Majesty’s Government declared in the Declaration that the main objects to be
achieved were:
(1) Effective use of the Sovereign Base Areas as military
bases;
(2) Full co-operation with the Republic of Cyprus;
(3) Protection of the interests of those resident or
working in the Sovereign Base Areas;
NOTING the
strongly expressed desire of the residents of the Sovereign Base Areas (“SBAs”)
for greater flexibility in relation to non-military development;
NOTING the view
of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
that this desire can be addressed within the spirit of the Declaration and in a
way compatible with its military needs;
NOTING the
strong wish of the Governments to work closely together to respond to that
desire;
CONSIDERING that
certain elements of the Declaration, including in relation to non-military
development, need to be adjusted to give better effect to the main objects of
the Declaration;
HAVE REACHED the
following Arrangement regarding non-military development in the SBAs:
SECTION 1
(a) The competent authorities of the Republic of Cyprus,
in consultation with and subject to the consent of the competent authorities of
the SBA administration, will define
planning zones and relevant planning policies for the areas mentioned in
Section 1 of Annex A of the Treaty Concerning the Establishment of the Republic
of Cyprus (‘Treaty of Establishment’), with the exception of land designated as
military sites, being that land that is owned or leased by or on behalf of the
Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (as
distinct from the SBA administration) as indicatively shown on the attached
maps.
(b) Where the Government of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland decides to dispose of land which is designated as
a military site or gives up its lease thereto, the said land will cease being
designated as a military site and will be subject to the relevant provisions of
this Arrangement. Where new land is acquired or leased by the Government of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the SBAs, it will be
designated as a military site and will be excluded from the relevant provisions
of this Arrangement.
(c) The Government of the Republic of Cyprus may, in
exceptional cases of public interest, request the inclusion in the planning
zones and relevant planning policies as provided for in Section 1(a) of land
which is exempted therefrom and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland will give sympathetic consideration to this request,
taking into consideration its military requirements.
SECTION 2
Subject to the
provisions of Section 1, the procedures normally implemented in the Republic of
Cyprus for the determination or the amendment of planning zones and planning
policies will be applied for the purposes of defining or amending the planning
zones and planning policies mentioned in that Section, in particular as regards
the participation of local authorities and the general public, in order to
promote the principles of transparency and public participation.
SECTION 3
The competent
authorities of the Republic of Cyprus that will undertake the planning
procedure, in consultation with the SBA administration, will have the full
support of the SBA administration, where appropriate, including the provision
of available data, plans, maps and other information needed for the purpose of
preparing the planning zones and planning policies as set out in Section 1.
SECTION 4
Planning zones
and policies defined in accordance with Sections 1 and 2 will be given effect,
as necessary, through SBA legislation and will be published.
SECTION 5
The competent
authorities of the Republic of Cyprus will consider and grant or refuse
building and land parcellation permits under the relevant SBA legislation,
subject to the prior consent of the competent authorities of the SBA
administration, and investigate compliance and non-compliance with that
legislation. Consideration of the planning aspects of individual development or
building proposals will also be undertaken by the competent authorities of the
Republic of Cyprus, in accordance with SBA legislation.
SECTION 6
The Government
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will not itself set
up civilian commercial or industrial enterprises except in so far as these are
connected with military requirements but the establishment within the SBAs of
civilian commercial or industrial enterprises will be allowed where consistent
with the planning zones and planning policies set out in Section 1 and with any
other relevant law in the SBAs. The
Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will
also give sympathetic consideration to any proposals from the Government of the
Republic of Cyprus to establish public utilities or other public services in
the SBAs.
SECTION 7
(a) Citizens of
the Republic of Cyprus will continue to have the right to own land in the SBAs.
(b) The SBA administration
will accord other EU nationals and nationals of third countries the right to
own land in the SBAs on, as far as is possible, the same basis as those rights
are accorded to such persons in the Republic of Cyprus. The Land Registry of
the Republic of Cyprus will continue to perform in relation to land within the
SBAs all the functions that it currently performs.
(c) There will
continue to be freedom of access to the SBAs to the extent envisaged in the
Declaration and in compliance with relevant EU obligations. The SBA
administration will permit persons to remain within the SBAs, other than for
temporary purposes, only in so far as those persons are permitted to remain in the
Republic of Cyprus, unless exceptional circumstances require otherwise.
SECTION 8
(a) The Republic of Cyprus will, for all persons within
the SBAs (other than Excluded Persons), provide public services provided for
Cypriots within the SBAs and perform administrative duties performed for
Cypriots within the SBAs on the basis set out in Paragraph 4 of the
Declaration.
(b) Arrangements
will be made to enable legal proceedings concerning civil rights and
obligations in which none of the parties are Excluded Persons to take place
within the Courts of the Republic, and for the enforcement within the SBAs of
the judgments and orders of such Courts in such proceedings.
(c) Arrangements
will also be made to enable certain criminal proceedings in which neither the
complainant nor the accused is an Excluded Person to be tried by the Courts of
the Republic.
(d) Persons
tried in the Courts of the Republic in pursuance of such arrangements will, if
convicted and sentenced to imprisonment, serve their sentences in the prisons
of the Republic.
(e) The
Government of the Republic of Cyprus and the SBA administration will also
examine what further measures might assist in ensuring the effective operation
of the criminal justice system across the jurisdictions of the Republic and the
SBAs.
(f) The Republic
of Cyprus will, as far as possible, accord all persons within the SBAs (other
than Excluded Persons) the same rights to vote and to stand as a candidate in
elections as would be accorded were they within the Republic of Cyprus.
(g) In this Section
an “Excluded Person” means any person who is not a citizen of the Republic of
Cyprus and is in the SBAs by reason only of the use of the SBAs as military
bases by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
SECTION
9
Any new
requirements for public infrastructure arising in the planning zones and from
planning policies defined in accordance with Section 1, including but not
limited to public roads, public utility services and public green spaces, and
the maintenance thereof, will be undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus. Where
this infrastructure is necessary for the military requirements of the UK, the
expenditure will be shared fairly between the Governments. Where public infrastructure is not necessary
for UK military purposes but a benefit may arise, the Governments will consider
how to share fairly the expenditure.
SECTION 10
(a) Where the
Government of the United Kingdom and/or the SBA administration is, as a result
of a Court decision which has become final, called upon to pay to any third
party compensation or damages as a result of a decision, act or omission in
which officers, authorities or bodies of the Republic of Cyprus have
participated when carrying out functions arising out of this Arrangement on
behalf of the SBA administration, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus will
indemnify the Government of the United Kingdom and/or the SBA administration,
as applicable, up to a level which is fair under the circumstances.
(b) Where the
Government of the Republic of Cyprus, the Government of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the SBA administration becomes aware of
any proceedings or likely proceedings which may give rise to a payment which
the Government of the Republic of Cyprus should indemnify, there will be full
co-operation between them as regards the conduct of any proceedings or the
response to such a claims and in particular on the appropriate amount (if any)
of any compensation claimed or paid or expenses incurred.
SECTION 11
(a) The
Declaration by Her Majesty’s Government regarding the Administration of the
Sovereign Base Areas, which was the subject of an exchange of notes between the
Governments on 16th August 1960, will continue to the extent that its
provisions are not incompatible with those of the present Arrangement.
(b) This Arrangement is not to be interpreted so as to
conflict with any international obligations of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland in respect of the SBAs.
(c) Except where
otherwise expressly provided or where the context so requires, terms defined in
the Treaty of Establishment have the same meaning when used in this Arrangement.
SECTION 12
A Joint
Cooperation Committee will be established to enable ongoing consultation and
facilitate co-operation to ensure the effective implementation of this
Arrangement.
SECTION 13
Any dispute arising between the Governments concerning the interpretation
or the implementation of this Arrangement will be settled first through
negotiations within the Joint Cooperation Committee or, failing that, through
negotiation between the Governments.
SECTION 14
This
Arrangement may be amended at any time by the mutual written consent of the
Governments.
SECTION 15
The present Arrangement will enter into effect upon
signature.
IN WITNESS
whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by their respective
Governments, have signed this Arrangement.
Signed in duplicate
in London this 15th day of January 2014 in the English language.
…………………………………… ……………………………………
For the
Government of the For the Government of the United Kingdom
Republic of Cyprus of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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