[PIO] Announcement of the Supreme Court on the occasion of an investigation by the Procedural Law Unit of the Law School of the University of Nicosia

At a time when everything and especially the Institutions are being questioned, in the wake of an investigation by the Procedural Law Unit of the Law School of the University of Nicosia, which has recently seen the light of day, the Supreme Court feels the need to announce the following:

From all that has been said and heard in recent days, what is of particular concern to us is the clearly erroneous impressions and derogatory references to the lack of impartiality of judges and to interference by political parties in the appointment of judges. These will be given attention, without underestimating the rest.

Reports of lack of impartiality:

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. Lack of impartiality is a serious ground for a disciplinary complaint against a judge or for filing an appeal.

The Supreme Court has introduced in January 2019 a Guide to Judicial Conduct, which is one of the most advanced in Europe and may serve as a model for other countries. The Guide applies to all judges in Cyprus, both in the Supreme Court and the trial courts, and covers every aspect of judicial function and conduct, including impartiality. In its assessment of the Code of Judicial Conduct, the Greco Commission concluded that Cyprus has fully complied with the relevant recommendation. In an announcement of the Legal Service of the Republic (Office of the Attorney General) dated 17.11.2020, on the occasion of the "Second Greco Compliance Report of Cyprus", it is noted that Cyprus has 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".

Furthermore, in 2019, the Judicial Practice, which had already existed since 1988, regarding the disqualification of judges has been amended and incorporated into the Guide, in order to broaden the mandatory cases of disqualification of a judge, in order to further ensure objective impartiality. The new Judicial Practice has set even stricter requirements than those required by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. According to the Guide to Judicial Conduct, serious cases of non-compliance with its provisions may constitute a disciplinary offence which may even lead to the dismissal of the judge.17

[/p] Therefore, apart from the long tradition of impartiality and ethics maintained by judges in Cyprus, a strong framework for ensuring the principle of impartiality, which is the quintessence of the judicial function, now exists in an institutionalised manner.

Perception of interference by political parties in the appointment of judges. Neither party, nor political, nor any other interference is tolerated. On the contrary, they are unthinkable.

At the same time, objective criteria have recently been introduced and publicly communicated, following a recommendation by Greco and after taking into account a report with recommendations of experts of the European Commission, by which the procedures for the appointment and promotion of judges are carried out, with the result that Greco considers that there has also been full compliance by Cyprus with the relevant recommendation. It is particularly noted that one of the criteria is the constitution of the relevant Bar Associations, which is generally followed. This is the only "intervention" that is made, and as a legitimate and welcome one, it has been institutionalised.

Recognition of the independence and integrity of the Cyprus Judiciary:

The recognition that the problems of the Cypriot judiciary are in no way related to the lack of integrity or independence of judges has been emphasized from the outset very recently in an opinion of the Venice Commission (

European

CommissionforDemocracythroughLaw, VeniceCommission) (Cyprus, OpiniononThreeBillsReformingtheJudiciary, 10-11 Δεκεμβρίου 2021). [/b]

[/p]

Thus, the European Commission's finding in 2004, for the purposes of accession of the Republic of Cyprus - and this was the first one examined - that. The principle of separation of powers is always respected.

The serious problem of delays

The serious problem of the Cypriot justice system is delays. The Supreme Court has requested the assistance of the European Union and as a result we are in the last period of a process of serious changes and 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 the judiciary. The system has reached its limits and we have repeatedly warned of this danger. If it has not collapsed to date, it is due to the enormous efforts of judicial officials, despite the adverse conditions and insufficient resources. [/b] The last effort to save the system must be a joint effort of judicial officials, lawyers and judges.

(NG)

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