The Speaker of the Parliament responds to the Minister of Education with three points on the issue concerning the proposal for a law on sexual education.
In her response to a letter from Mr. Prodromos, Anita Demetriou refers to interference in the procedure which is blatantly anti-regulatory and unethical action.
[/P]At the same time, she adds that during the discussion of the proposal, representatives of the Ministry had expressed views and positions and had the necessary time to act accordingly.
Anita Demetriou's statement:
"Regarding your letter, dated 25 November 2022, on the above matter, I inform you that-
(a) The discussion of the legislative proposal to which you refer has already been completed by the competent committee, which has submitted it with its report to the plenary session of the House for a vote.
(b) At this stage, any interference by the Executive on the substance of the proposed legislation, and by extension and inevitably on the normative internal procedure of the Parliament, constitutes a blatantly anti-regulatory and unethical act, which entails obvious risks for the smooth functioning of the institutions and should be avoided.
(c) At the stage of the discussion of the said proposal for a law, representatives of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth had been invited and expressed their views and had been given the necessary time to defend their positions both in principle and on individual issues.
Therefore, any different or new opinion on the part of the competent ministry, even at this stage, can only constitute an interference with the legislative power, which raises legitimate questions.
In addition to the above, your reference to the possible unconstitutionality of the proposed regulations also raises reasonable questions, since the judgement on the constitutionality or otherwise of the proposal for a law being promoted for adoption does not, as we all know, belong to the Executive Power, but to the Attorney General of the Republic as the constitutional legal adviser of the State, who, if the proposal for a law in question is finally adopted into law, will be able to advise the President of the Republic to refer and/or report it to the Supreme Court if, upon promulgation of the law, he identifies any issues that require reconsideration and/or any unconstitutionality
I hope that the demonstration of heightened sensitivity on the part of all is fully understood, in order to avoid in the future any unnecessary interference[/B] in the work of the legislature for the benefit of both powers, but above all the need to safeguard the institutions."
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