The British Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (population 15,500) comprise those parts of Cyprus that stayed under British jurisdiction and remained British sovereign territory when the 1960 Treaty of Establishment created the independent Republic of Cyprus.
They constitute a semi-independent British Overseas Territory, under the governance of an administrator, who at the same time is the commander of the British Forces Cyprus.
The bases remain formally a part of the UK, but can only be used for military and not commercial or any other purposes. It is the only part of the UK where the euro, and not the pound, is in circulation.
The bases have their own legal system, distinct from both the UK and Cyprus, but keep, as close as possible, to the laws of the latter. The Court of the Sovereign Base Area is concerned with non-military offenses committed by any person within Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
Law and order are maintained by the Sovereign Base Areas Police, while military law is upheld by the Cyprus Joint Police Unit. The Greek Cypriots living within either SBA actually have the right to both a Cypriot and a British Passport.
Self-Determination Advocates 