The legislative framework in question is expected to be sent to the plenary on 30 June, with AKEL saying, through MP Aristos Damianou, that it is not a total but a partial reform and that they will assess all the facts before taking a position on the issue in the plenary.
It is still expected to be sent to plenary, in 15 days, the bill on femicide and the regulations for the recruitment of contract special policemen to deal with migratory flows and the surveillance of the Green Line.
On the legislative framework for the reform of the judiciary, Ms Tsiridou, in her statements after the Legal Affairs Committee meeting, recalled that Cyprus is at the bottom of the league table in terms of the length of time taken to process court cases, according to EU reports.
As chairwoman of the Legal Affairs Committee, she appealed to all parties to vote in favour of the relevant provisions, so that the bills which have been pending before the Parliament for years can move forward "and at last the Cypriot justice system can finally experience the reform that will allow it to function for the benefit of citizens".
"The more we delay, the more we let the justice system finish," he added.
He also said that "if we are really interested in the swift and efficient administration of justice, but also in the consolidation of transparency we must move quickly and decisively." The reform and the bills, he added, advance subject specialization in the courts, faster adjudication and a return to disciplinary control of judges, one court over another, at the highest level.
Damianou said that for his party, comprehensive reform is a necessity, but the bills to be referred to the plenary "unfortunately do not constitute a comprehensive reform, but a partial reform."
"Nor do they respond to the scientific documentation to legal concerns raised by both us and part of the legal community. Nor do they convince us that they will solve the burning problem of delays," he added.
He said that AKEL, over the years, has been submitting proposals, but the final result remains incomplete.
He added that the Justice Ministry and DISY, as the ruling party, should have given space and time to dialogue with the aim of finding convergences, as was the case with the local government reform.
"We wonder if the ruling party, again, is sacrificing substance on the altar of communication," he said.
Therefore, he added, "we will assess all the facts and take a position in the plenary session of Parliament."
Regulations for the recruitment of 300 contracted special police officers
Ms Tsiridou said it is very important to exercise control over the Green Line "because Turkey has really become disgusted". She said the numbers speak for themselves, as 92% of arrivals to the Republic of Cyprus are through the Green Line, especially in 2022.
In this way, she added, a physical barrier and surveillance is put in place in an area that is currently facing problems.
On the same issue, Ecologist-Civic Movement MP Haralambos Theopeptou said he was "delighted" to see today that a paragraph was removed from the recruitment specifications for the 300 Green Line probationers, which required female candidates to bring a certificate that they had no gynaecological problems.
He said, however, that they still have "many concerns" about both the tasks these individuals will perform, the level of training they will receive, and what will happen when those hired encounter various groups "who we don't know what their reaction" will be. He recalled that these individuals will be armed in an area where on one side, there are the Turkish soldiers, the line of fire with the United Nations, on the other side, there are the National Guard soldiers, the fence, and behind the fence, there will be this group.
He also said that the duties of this team will not prevent this kind of migration, since, he said, anyone who manages to cross the fence will be picked up and taken to Purnara.
Theopeptou said that if the state wants the state to have meaningful results it[/B] must go after the source of the problem.[/B] He said the smugglers are advertising their services on social media while campaigns are being conducted in African countries and that this is where efforts should be directed.
ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou[/B] said that for his party, the issue of migrant flows "is the most important national problem facing Cyprus, with dimensions in all aspects of public life".
He said that they want the passage of this particular bill to proceed immediately "so that we give more weapons to the fight against illegal immigration."
Bill on femicide
Regarding the proposed law on femicide, Ms. Tsiridou, said the parties had positioned themselves that they would put forward their own views in the plenary session, bearing in mind the
amendment tabled by EDEK MP Kostis Efstathiou.
She said that as DISY, "as it stands today, the revised proposal of the Speaker (of the House) does not find us in disagreement."
Commenting on the amendment tabled by Mr. Efstathiou, following a question, said that while it is understandable why he is making this amendment so that the aggravating factors are not only the issue of gender but also other dependency relationships, what makes things more difficult legally, in relation to his amendment, is that he is proposing to include it in the law that ratifies the Istanbul Convention which concerns women, "so we believe that it may not have been the most appropriate legislation to make this amendment."
Source: CNA
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