The article-by-article discussion of the three bills for the reform of the Higher Tier of Justice was completed on Wednesday with the Minister of Justice and the President of the Pancyprian Bar Association calling on MPs to support this effort by voting them into law when they are submitted to the plenary soon, warning of the collapse of the highest tier otherwise.
The bills are expected to be brought to the plenary either at the end of April, or early May.
In their statements after the meeting of the Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee, both Justice Minister Stefi Drakou and the President of the Pancyprian Bar Association, Christos Clerides, said that there are currently about 5,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court. In the primary jurisdiction there are 42,000 cases pending, the minister said.
Drakou, based on the discussion in committee and from what she said were the few remarks made in the debate on the floor, expressed optimism that, "this last-ditch effort to save our justice system, the rule of law, will come to a happy end."
Everything that needed to be said has been said, the Minister said, referring to the long discussions on the bills.
"We have reached the stage of final decisions, my appeal to the House is to see the matter quickly and bring the bills to a vote, because by word of mouth, by everyone, this is what Justice needs, otherwise the system will collapse. So the end goal must be achieved," he said.
He said he remains at the disposal of the House until the end to overcome whatever concerns there are.
In response to a question about the problems at the primary level, the Minister said that an initiative was being analysed, independent of the reform that is being promoted at the moment, which is not about these three bills, but a broader and very ambitious plan that complements these bills and aims to overcome the problems that have accumulated over the years involving technology, the administration of the courts and many issues that had been identified as being the ones that were creating this backlog "and we have reached this tipping point where 47,000 cases are pending adjudication, 5,000 in the High Court, 42,000 in the Lower Court."
With each passing day, he said, "this backlog (workload) is increasing."
He said he believes the issue is exhausted. He said academic discussions are useful, but there has to be an end to them.
"Yesterday I was not so optimistic, today I am more optimistic," he said after the session. He added that every aspect of the whole issue has been exhausted and that the three bills have the support of the Supreme Court, the institutions of the Council of Europe and the European Union, the Attorney General and the Pancyprian Bar Association.
"The time has come, therefore, to put an end to the delays observed at the Supreme Court," he said, adding that there are 5,000 delayed cases and about 10,000 to 15,000 litigants are suffering. Also suffering are about 2,000 lawyers who are handling these appeals and who are experiencing a continuous loss of clientele as well as income, he said.
He warned that if the bills are not passed, "as the Supreme Court has warned, the judiciary in the upper tier will collapse."
He also said public confidence in the judiciary has been shaken. "Justice which is delayed is not justice," he said.
Replying to a question, he said that with the passage of the bills, a new Court of Appeal, an appellate and an appellate body, consisting of the Supreme Constitutional Court, and the new High Court will be created.
The Supreme Constitutional Court will consist of nine judges and the new High Court will consist of seven judges. Therefore, he said, at the Supreme Court level, we are adding 16 new Appellants and three new Judges to staff the Supreme Constitutional Court and the High Court, in addition to the 13. We will therefore have 19 new judges who, together with the 13 existing ones, will resolve the backlog issue.
"A very satisfactory number and I believe that within three years there will be no delays," he said.
Committee Chairman Nikos Tornaritis said they had reached the end of years of discussions and expressed the hope that "a new great optimistic chapter for our justice system will open."
"Everyone is saying that Justice is currently on the brink of collapse, we are here to save the state of affairs, everyone without exception, all parties, all institutions, are finding the same state of affairs," he said.
In the next session, he added, there will be the position of all parties on the bills, expressing the wish that "everyone, without exception, will rise to the occasion, to save the rule of law in the Republic of Cyprus."
He called for decisions away from petty party correlations and calculations.
DIKO MP, Christiana Erotokritou, said that they agree that the appellate jurisdiction must indeed be changed, but their own prioritization makes the primary jurisdiction as the goal that everyone should have dealt with "in order to immediately address the huge problems that exist there and at a later stage, those of the appellate jurisdiction."
She referred to the 42,000 backlog of cases in the provincial courts, which, she said, plague tens of thousands, litigants, lawyers, and often are a barrier to the exercise or pursuit at the appellate level, of justice."
Ms. Erotokritou said they will examine the final package of bills seriously and express their views on any changes that need to be made.
Alekos Tryfonidis, MP for the PPP, said they support the immediate reform of the Judiciary. He said they will work for creative and thorough reform in the Judiciary to deliver justice to the citizens directly, and for foreign investors to be able to render justice and end a matter in the courts in a short period of time.
Charalambos Theopeptou, President of the Ecologists - Citizens' Co-operation Movement, said they would support the reform, although they believe there are things they would like to add. He said his party would like both the President of the Pancyprian Bar Association and the Attorney General, as well as junior judges and others, to participate with voting rights in the Supreme Judicial Council, which will make the appointments and promotions of judges. In other countries even citizens participate, he said, and this is because justice is a social matter in a rule of law state.
He also said that his party is ready to participate in the meeting called by the Minister of Justice to see what changes need to be made to mitigate the problems observed in the courts of first instance. The meeting will take place on April 20.
Source: CNA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
