Held today, at the Presidential Palace, the confirmation ceremony of the new member of the Supreme Court, Ms. Stalos Hatzigiannis Christodoulou, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicos Anastasias.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Anastasiades said that "exercising the powers granted by the Constitution, I proceed with the appointment of Ms. Stalos Hatzigiannis Christodoulou as a member of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Cyprus.
The decision to appoint her was based on the excellent level of her legal training, the documented experience and expertise gained during her successful and long-standing service and the ethics and integrity of her character as an officer of the judiciary.
In this context, I am absolutely certain that, by exercising her duties with the utmost conscientiousness, which characterizes her, and objectivity, she will contribute to safeguarding the independence, impartiality and honesty of the Judiciary, as well as the prestige of justice in our country.
An objective which we have placed at the highest level of our priorities, implementing a series of interventions and reforms aimed at ensuring the speedy and efficient delivery of justice.
By way of indication only, as the main actions to modernise the structures and the whole framework governing the functioning of the justice system in Cyprus, I would like to mention:
(i) The establishment of new Courts, such as the Administrative Court, the Court of International Protection, while the laws for the establishment of the Commercial Court and the Maritime Court have recently been passed.
(ii) The launch of the establishment of a School of Magistrates following the passing of the relevant bill.
(iii) In the framework of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority was established and the bills on the protection of public interest witnesses, Transparency in Public Decision-Making Processes and the regulation of lobbying were passed.
(iv) The promotion of the digitalisation of courts with the implementation of e-Justice, the so-called e-Justice, where from July 2021 the intermediate system, the so-called i-justice with the electronic registration of court documents and the Acoustic Digital Recording of Court Sessions Minutes will be implemented.
(v) The creation of a special jurisdiction of courts for the adjudication of disputes arising from or in connection with credit facilities and securities, as well as for the adjudication of small claims cases.
(vi) The significant increase in the number of Judges, taking into account the time taken up to date, while setting objective criteria for their evaluation and promotion.
(vii) The completion and ongoing implementation of major building infrastructure projects, at a total cost of more than €100 million.
At the same time. I hope that within this month or next month at the latest, Parliament will finally decide so that we can have a more radical reform of the judicial system so that justice can finally be and be administered expeditiously.
(ii) As well as a number of bills have been tabled to modernise and revise the law, including the family law with the tabling of eight bills in this regard, which is also pending before Parliament.
(iii) A study is underway by foreign experts to establish - very importantly for the judges the Court Service, the so-called Court Service, for the efficient administrative functioning of the courts, freeing up valuable time from the judiciary which at present, in addition to its judicial duties, is consumed with administrative matters.
What I have mentioned is only a part of the policy we are adopting towards strengthening the prestige of the institution of justice in our country.
However, it is sufficiently indicative of our determination in this direction. A determination to complete our plan to reform the judicial system, upgrade the infrastructure of the courts and further combat corruption, as evidenced by the inclusion of relevant actions in the Cyprus Tomorrow Plan, with the inclusion of relevant actions exceeding €20 million.
Mrs Chatzigianni Christodoulou it is in this effort that you are invited to contribute, that is, in the effort of all of us, the Supreme Court, the judiciary, the State, the legislature, so that we upgrade but also through the reforms, in addition to modernization, so that justice is finally dispensed expeditiously and the only criticisms that are heard are addressed, not for prestige or integrity, but for delay, and certainly the responsibility of the State and all of us working together to achieve that.
I have no doubt, taking into account your previous service in the judiciary, that your appointment and the performance of your duties will be a complete success."
For her part, Ms. Hatzigianni Christodoulou, after expressing her thanks to the President, said, inter alia, that her appointment marks the end of a 26-year course at all levels and jurisdictions of the first instance administration of justice, as well as the beginning of a new course from the podium of the appellate administration of justice "in a dangerously evolving environment" that will affect citizens and societies.
He pointed out that what is tragically happening now in the world is the product of a violation of international law from which Cyprus has been suffering for decades.
He added that "as a state we have failed to fully meet the paramount task of establishing and prevailing in all areas, the principles that give rise to the modern concept of the rule of law. This is mainly because justice is not administered within a reasonable period of time, as required by the Constitution, an element that undermines the mission of any conducive state".
He also pointed out that, for this, the State bears substantial responsibility, which over the years has not invested the minimum in the justice sector, "an omission that the present Government is trying to remedy with the judicial reform announced years ago."
He expressed the hope that this effort will provide a solution to the problem, noting at the same time that the housing issue of the courts must be resolved.
He expressed the hope that this effort will provide a solution to the problem, noting that it is imperative to solve the housing issue of the courts.
He also said that the institutions of the administration of justice also bear a share of responsibility for the situation, as they failed to take timely and appropriate actions towards the state to solve the problems and did not make as much use of the constitutionally guaranteed functional independence of the judiciary to introduce simple and flexible procedures for the administration of justice.
Finally, he expressed warm wishes for the Labour Minister's speedy recovery.
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