The Supreme Court in a lengthy statement takes a position on an investigation by the Procedural Law Unit of the Law School of the University of Nicosia, which has recently seen the light of day, and among other things stresses that from all that has been said and heard in recent days, "what is of particular concern to us is the clearly false impressions and derogatory references to the lack of impartiality of judges and interference by political parties in the appointment of judges".
Clarifying that it will give weight to these without belittling the rest, the Supreme Court states that while it is certainly the right of every lawyer and every citizen to have his or her own opinion and impression, "the perception of some lawyers, as presented in the survey, that judges are not impartial has no basis in the facts".
According to the Supreme Court, lack of impartiality is a serious ground for a disciplinary complaint against a judge or for filing an appeal, adding that it has introduced in January 2019 a Guide to Judicial Conduct, which is among the most advanced in Europe and may serve as a model for other countries.
The Guide, the Supreme Court says, applies to all judges in Cyprus, both in the Supreme Court and in the trial courts, and covers every aspect of judicial function and conduct, including impartiality.
It notes that in its assessment of the Greco Commission in relation to the Guide to Judicial Conduct, it concluded that Cyprus has fully complied with the relevant recommendation.
It also recalls the announcement of the Legal Service of the Republic on 17.11.2020, on the occasion of the "Second Compliance Report of Cyprus to Greco" where it is noted that Cyprus managed to satisfactorily implement (7) of the (16) recommendations and therefore was not called as "overall unsatisfactory compliance" and that "this is largely due to the implementation of all four Recommendations relating to the Prevention of Corruption in the Judiciary".
The Supreme Court also refers to a new Judicial Practice whereby more stringent requirements have been imposed even than those required by the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. And according to the Guide to Judicial Conduct,serious cases of non-compliance with its provisions may constitute a disciplinary offence that may even lead to the dismissal of the judge.
"Therefore, in addition to the long tradition of impartiality and ethics maintained by judges in Cyprus, there now exists, and in a statutory manner, a strong framework for safeguarding the principle of impartiality, which is the quintessence of the judicial function," it states.
As regards the perception of interference by political parties in the appointment of judges, the Supreme Court states that "the perception recorded in the above investigation that 'there are cases of interference by political parties in the appointment of judges in Cyprus'
"Neither party, nor political, nor any other interference is tolerated. On the contrary, they are unthinkable", it says.
It notes that objective criteria have recently been introduced and publicly communicated, following a recommendation by Greco and after taking into account a report with recommendations by experts of the European Commission, by which the procedures for the appointment and promotion of judges are conducted, with the result that Greco considers that there has also been full compliance by Cyprus with the relevant recommendation.
As regards the recognition that the problems of the Cypriot judiciary are in no way related to the lack of integrity or independence of judges, according to the Supreme Court, this has been emphasised from the outset very recently in an opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, Venice Commission (Cyprus, Opinion on Three Bills Reforming the Judiciary, 10-11 December 2021).
It refers to a finding of the European Commission in 2004, for the purposes of accession of the Republic of Cyprus that " The judiciary of Cyprus is independent. The principle of separation of powers is always respected. The level of administration of justice is high."
On the serious problem of delays it states that it has sought the assistance of the European Union and as a result we are in the final stages of a process of serious change, even fundamental reform of the judiciary.
"The fact that Cyprus is in the bottom ranks in terms of delays is not unrelated to the equally important fact that for years it has also been in the bottom ranks in terms of state funding of justice," he notes.
He also states that the system has reached its limits and that the Supreme Court has repeatedly warned of this danger.
"If it has not collapsed to date, it is due to the enormous efforts of the judiciary, despite the adverse conditions and inadequate resources. The last effort to save the system must be a joint effort of judicial officials, lawyers and judges," the Supreme Court concludes.
Source: CNA
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