Cyprus Parliament ruled to approve an amendment to strike out a provision in the Cypriot constitution which enables the imposition of the death penalty.
The majority of MPs voted in favour of writing off the second paragraph of article 7. This was the 10th amendment in the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus.
The Cyprus House consists of 56 MPs from eight political parties.
The amendment was deemed necessary because the Republic of Cyprus as a state governed by the rule of law that defends human rights and in particular the right to life and to physical integrity, opposes as a matter of principle the imposition of the death penalty.
The reasoning behind the amendment also notes that the Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state and abides by the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The article that was removed provided for the possibility of imposing the death penalty by law in cases of premeditated murder, high treason, piracy or any offence resulting in the capital punishment under military law.
The last time the death penalty was imposed in Cyprus was in 1962.