Exercising the powers vested in me by the Constitution, I proceed today to appoint the Presidents and members of the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Justice.
Mr. Antonis Liatsos is appointed President of the Supreme Constitutional Court and the members are Ms. Teresa Karakanna, Ms. Marika Papathoma, Ms. Dora Sokratous, Ms. Stalo Hatzigiannis and Ms. Tasia Psara-Miliadou and Mr. Elias Georgiou, Mr. Tefkros Economou and Mr. Nicolas Santos.
Ms Katerina Stamatiou is appointed President of the Supreme Court and its members are Ms Lena Demetriadou-Andreou and Ms Elena Efraim and Mr Jasemis Jasemi, Mr Angelos David, Mr Ioannis Ioannidis and Mr Haris Malachtos.
As paramount criteria for their appointment, their academic studies, the excellence of their legal training and competence, and the breadth of their knowledge and experience gained as members of the judiciary were taken into account.
In addition, the ethics, integrity of character, as well as the objectivity, impartiality and high sense of justice which distinguished all the appointees in their long and successful service on the bench were taken into account in that decision.
To this end, the contribution of the Advisory Council was important, which, with strict adherence to meritocratic rules, submitted to me a list of detailed recommendations, thus facilitating the exercise of the powers which the Constitution confers on the President concerned.
With the appointment of the judges of the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court and the commencement of the operation of these Courts together with the Court of Appeal from 1 July 2023, a fundamental and profound reform of the judicial system, which remained attached to the practices and structures of 1960 with the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, is completed.
This important development for the administration of justice is the result of the close cooperation between the Government, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and the Bar Association, as well as the high sense of responsibility shown by the political forces by adopting the majority of the bills submitted to the Parliament.
What I want to recall is that in order to implement our plans and objectives, we have proceeded with a series of laws and projects that have led to:
(i) The increase in the number of provincial judges, in the first stage, by 40, an increase of 54% compared to the number of judges in 2013, not including the increase of judges of the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Court of Appeal.
(ii) The establishment of new courts, such as the Commercial Court, the Maritime Court, the Administrative Court and the Court of International Protection.
Courts through which specialisation and strengthening of the sense of justice will be achieved, while avoiding over-concentration of powers at the highest level, making it more flexible and functional.
[III] The establishment of the School of Magistrates.
[IV] The digitalisation of judicial procedures. The so-called i-justice is already being implemented in the first stage and the final e-justice system will soon be implemented, while we hope to introduce Digital Audio Recording by 2025.
(v) The completion and ongoing implementation of major building infrastructure projects of judicial mega-courts.
(vi) At the same time, in an effort to protect and safeguard the rights of the child, we proceeded to.
(b) Strengthening equality between spouses, both in property matters and in matters relating to the care and custody of children, through the fundamental reform of the Family Law, with the adoption of four bills, while four others are before the House of Representatives.
The focus of our priorities and policy from the outset has been on equality, equality, increasing the speed of justice, consolidating good administration, as well as defending the rights and dignity of the citizen from all forms of arbitrariness and abuse of power.
And referring to the abuse of power and the fight against corruption, I strongly feel the need to stress and remind once again that, despite what some people imply or maliciously suggest, we have significantly strengthened the framework for preventing and combating these phenomena, through the establishment of a strong legal framework, which places us among the 11 European countries that have established the following:
a) The establishment of the Independent Authority against Corruption.
Ensuring transparency in the decision-making processes of the public and wider public sector.
[C] The protection of Public Interest Witnesses.
(d) The full staffing and training of all Internal Audit Units of Ministries and Deputy Ministries.
[E) THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FINANCIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION SUB-DIRECTORATE OF THE POLICE HEADQUARTERS.
(f) The establishment of the Anti-Corruption Unit as the specialised mechanism for the investigation and prosecution of corruption offences, headed by the Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General of the Republic, with the participation of representatives of the competent services.
The national strategy includes 52 actions in order to achieve what society in general is calling for, the fight against corruption. There is the corruption perception index and the actual facts concerning corruption. I would not like to expand on this point. What I want to say is that the reform of the judiciary with the adoption of relevant legislation is safeguarding, shielding democracy from any abuse, from any act of corruption and in this way turning our state into a truly modern European state.
Madam President, Mr. President, Honourable Members of the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court,
Your assurance today, in addition to the special honour, constitutes your commitment that you will work with full dedication in the direction I have mentioned above, putting your own stamp on the preservation and strengthening of the prestige of Justice in our country.
I have no doubt that you will work tirelessly, showing from your new duties the same zeal and doing full justice to the expectations arising from your appointment, both mine and those of the citizens and of the Advisory Council, which has played an important role in recommending what is most elite.
Congratulating you once again, I wish you good health, and success in the performance of your duties.
(PM/MG/EXP)
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