Journal of Politics and Law; Vol. 13, No. 3; 2020 ISSN 1913-9047 E-ISSN 1913-9055 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 1 Still Unrecognized State “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” in the Context of the Cyprus Negotiations: Status of the TRNC’ Court Decisions Ayhan Dolunay 1 & Fevzi Kasap 2 1 Graduate School of Social Sciences and Faculty of Communication, Near East University, Asst. Prof. Dr., Nicosia, TRNC 2 Department of Radio, TV and Cinema, Faculty of Communication, Near East University, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Nicosia, TRNC Correspondence: Ayhan Dolunay Graduate School of Social Sciences and Faculty of Communication, Near East University, Nicosia, TRNC, Mersin 10 Turkey. Tel: 90-392-680-2000-245. E-mail: ayhan.dolunay@neu.edu.tr Received: May 12, 2020 Accepted: May 30, 2020 Online Published: July 23, 2020 doi:10.5539/jpl.v13n3p1 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v13n3p1 Abstract The issue of the recognition of the TRNC brings specific constraints because of the influence of the Cyprus peace talks, which have been ongoing for 50 years. After the new era started in 2014, the TRNC authorities’ efforts to reach an agreement and their struggle to make the TRNC recognized have been obstructed by barriers placed by the southern Cyprus administration. Each of the sides in the peace talks approaches each other’s demands positively or negatively. One of the other important problems is whether the decisions given by the TRNC Courts would create an effect like the court decisions given by the courts of any recognized states or not. In order for the court decisions of the TRNC judiciary to have the necessary effects, the TRNC must become effectively an equal on the negotiation table and a directly recognized state. Turkey has enabled the TRNC judiciary decisions to have an effect in Turkey by signing protocols with the TRNC, but what is the status of related court decisions in other countries? In this framework, this study aims to analyse the court decisions in other unrecognized states via the document analysis method. According to the findings, the TRNC’s judiciary decisions can have an effect in other countries. Additionally, the TRNC is a recognized state at least in a limited (indirect) manner and has political equality, but this needs to be improved further via direct recognition. Keywords: court decisions, recognition and enforcement, unrecognized state, TRNC, Cyprus negotiations 1. Introduction From the past to the present, Cyprus has been a key focus of many civilizations. As a result of political and social changes that took place in different periods, the Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960 through a partnership between Turkish and Greek Cypriots. However, as a result of an increase in the ongoing conflict, the relationship between the two communities was damaged and separation was inevitable. According to the agreement made under the guarantee of Turkey, Britain and Greece, Cyprus was divided into two parts under the terms of a ceasefire. Until today, Turkish and Greek Cypriots have not been able to reach any sustainable peace agreement. However, after the Greek community become a member of the European Union representing the whole island, the Turkish Cypriot community was effectively excluded. In recent years, despite the increase in peace talks between the two communities, no tangible results have thus far been achieved. Additionally, as the Turkish state (TRNC) receives no global recognition, this has caused a disparity in the peace talks. The purpose of this study, the peace talks between the two communities cannot be achieved without political equality between the two sides for a permanent solution. The Greek Cypriot state is recognized by Europe and other world countries (Cyprus), but the Turkish Cypriot state (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) is not recognized by any country other than Turkey. This situation also undermines the basis for negotiations. Within this scope, attempts have been made to recognize the TRNC. On the other hand, although the lack of recognition affects many different areas of the TRNC, it cannot restrict other aspects. Our study focuses on whether the court decisions in the TRNC, an unrecognized state, can be recognized or enforced (possible to have any international effect) in other countries or not.