The Cyprus Public Record Office was established in 1978 under the Public Record Law, 1972, to provide for the preservation of public records. In 1991 it was renamed "State Archives" under the new State Archives Law, which repealed the Public Record Law 1972. It is a service under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order.
The State Archivist is responsible for taking all necessary steps for the maintenance and functioning of the State Archives and for the preservation of the records under his charge (s.4 and s.5). Other main provisions of the Law deal with the selection and transfer by departments, under the guidance of the State Archivist, of records for permanent preservation to the State Archives (s.6.), the disposal by destruction or other means of those not required for preservation (s.6), the appointment of places of deposit other than the State Archives (s.7) and access by the public to the records 30 years after their creation, unless the Minister of Justice and Public Order has prescribed a different period in the case of records containing sensitive information (s.8). A definition of what are "public records" for the purposes of the Law is included (s.2).