The reform of justice was discussed by politicians, academics and experts at a conference of the Law School of the University of Nicosia, entitled "European civil procedure after Brexit: delays and the need for acceleration, technology in justice and alternative dispute resolution."[/QUOTE]
The reform of justice was discussed by politicians, academics and experts at a conference of the Law School of the University of Nicosia, entitled "European civil procedure after Brexit: delays and the need for acceleration, technology in justice and alternative dispute resolution". Minister of Justice and Public Order Stefi Drakou spoke of a landmark year in the Cypriot justice system in relation to the reform. For his part, the President of the Pancyprian Bar Association Christos Clerides spoke of a positive step, albeit with some weaknesses.
The opening ceremony of the conference was addressed by the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Stefi Drakou, the Commissioner of Legislation, Louisa Christodoulides Zannetou, the President of the Parliamentary Committee of Legal Affairs, MP for DISY, Nikos Tornaritis, Christos Clerides, President of the Cyprus Bar Association and Achilleas Aimylianides, Professor of Law and Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Nicosia.
In a video message, Drakou said that 2022 was an important year, a milestone in Cyprus' justice system, as we saw important bills that paved the way for reform being passed with an overwhelming majority. She stated that it is with satisfaction that "we saw the establishment of the new Supreme Constitutional Court with 9 judges and the new Supreme Court with 7 judges being passed, with both these courts being granted additional third degree jurisdiction in specific cases, the Court of Appeal which will be the appellate jurisdiction and will operate in specialised divisions for the quick adjudication of appeals and the Commercial Court with 5 judges, which will hear commercial disputes exceeding 2 million Cyprus dollars. He noted that through these courts, specialisation, increased transparency, the necessary mutual control, which does not exist today, will be achieved, while the over-concentration of powers in the upper tier will be avoided, making it more flexible and functional."
He noted that through these courts, specialisation, increased transparency, the necessary mutual control, which does not exist today, will be achieved, while the over-concentration of powers in the upper tier will be avoided, making it more flexible and functional. But above all, he continued, because they will achieve the decongestion of all levels of justice and the rapid and qualitative administration of justice.
The Minister spoke of new challenges and mentioned that in July 2023, the operation of the 5 newly established courts will start with the recruitment of 26 new judges to staff them and that from next September, the new Civil Procedure Rules will be implemented, which simplify procedures and enable new cases to be handled from the moment they are filed and the time for their adjudication to be predetermined up to the end, in an area where the greatest delay is observed, namely the provincial courts.
He also added that early this year e-justice will be implemented and that the tele-justice project is being completed and Digital Audio Recording is coming by 2025. He also noted that on January 18, the final study for the establishment of the Court Service with the sole responsibility of administering the courts is being delivered. A service that will be staffed, she said, by the appropriate specialists required to run organisations of this size, so that judges can concentrate on their judicial duties.
Zannetou said in her speech that judicial reform, the introduction of new technologies, developments in EU cross-border transactions and changes in EU procedure and mediation in the post-Brexit era are the points that will also be addressed at the conference. He noted that changes in the judiciary can contribute to a faster and more correct examination of cases.
He added that legal experts agree on the necessity of introducing technological means at all stages of the judicial process, as has already been proven in various legal systems around the world. At the same time, he said, the ambitious project of the revision of civil procedure institutions, supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe, was implemented on the basis of the Cypriot judiciary's commitment to high-level reforms as a priority of the national political agenda.
Tornaritis said in a video message that justice that is delayed is obviously not justice. He noted that as the Legal Committee, significant efforts had been made over the past year, with the support of the Minister of Justice, and it had been possible to pass reform at the highest level of the judiciary.
We voted, he continued, to establish the commercial court and the admiralty court, we passed the first four bills on family law reform, we passed the regulations on family mediation. We are working, he said, on the committees already set up by the Ministry of Justice to pass legislation relating to small claims courts, the small claims courts. At the same time, he said, we are supporting all efforts to introduce e-justice and i-justice in the judiciary.
For his part, he said that the reform of the judiciary is certainly a positive step, even if it has some weaknesses. "It is with disappointment that the Cyprus Bar Association has noted the further delay in its implementation. The opening of the three new courts was postponed to July 1, 2023 and I hope that there will be no further postponement on this issue," he noted.
The role of the Pancyprian Bar Association, he said, was instrumental in the passage of the reform and expressed hope that in the matter of appointments, which are currently underway, of new judges to staff the appellate and tertiary courts, there would be some change of mindset regarding the judicial yearbook in the appointment of judges. He added that priority should be given to enriching the judiciary with experienced lawyers. Furthermore, he said that the only way in which we will be able to attract dispute resolution in Cyprus in the commercial court and the admiralty court is through the appointment of judges of known prestige.
For his part, Mr. Aimylianides said that as far as the reforms in the field of civil procedure and the situation are concerned, it is a fact that the timing of the conference is not the best, as it comes after one of the worst moments of the Cypriot justice system, which was the pitfall that the Supreme Court threw in the rule of law through the enactment and immediate implementation of the special regulations for delayed cases.
Aimylianides noted that it is very important to put transparency issues on the table and that the debate has gone global and said that "by simply saying that we don't have a problem in Cyprus, I don't think we are addressing the problem".
He stressed that the fact that an Anti-Corruption Authority had been established, with no investigative powers of its own and no possibilities of criminal prosecution, even if this had to be done by amending the Constitution, was a mistake. We must, he continued, take the decision that we need to treat issues, not of actual corruption, but even of suspected corruption with extreme seriousness, because justice is something we must uphold as the apple of our eye.
Source: KYPE
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