An on-site meeting was held today between the President of the Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice and Public Order and the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, the Chief Prosecutor and the Presidents of the Cyprus Bar Association and the Nicosia and Kyrenia Bar Associations, to discuss the building problems with the relevant Ministries and the Department of Public Works, in order to find interim solutions until the completion of the Nicosia Courthouse. In the context of the meeting, it was a common understanding that the existing facilities of the Nicosia District Court are in need of immediate repair, improvement and upgrading since they do not bring honour to the Republic of Cyprus.
Addressing the Ministers, the President of the Supreme Court Ms. Persephone Panagi expressed the necessity of the construction of a Nicosia Courthouse, a request dating back to 1969, and the intense efforts of the Supreme Court for the restoration of the listed buildings of the District Court. He then put on the agenda, as a priority of the proceedings, the issue of security and fencing of the premises. It is urgent to carry out the works before the first half of 2022, when the European Commission funding ends. According to the first estimates of the Public Works Department, the fencing project is expected to be completed in mid-April 2022. At the same time, the President of the Cyprus Bar Association, Dr Christos Clerides, briefly mentioned on behalf of the Association the most crucial issues that burden the functionality of the facilities. Indicatively, Dr Christos Clerides informed the competent Ministers of the problems of the indoor and outdoor premises and stressed the need to install a reliable network and a suitable technological infrastructure for the effective conduct of hearings at a distance.
The Ministers shared the concerns of the applicants and promised the immediate launch of the tender and the acceleration of the work delayed due to the pandemic. Finally, the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Ms. Stefi Drakou, assured those present that the issues would be examined immediately together with the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, and requested that the issues be submitted in writing so that they could be sent to the Department of Public Works and the necessary timetables set. After the end of the discussion, the stakeholders proceeded to inspect the premises of the Nicosia District Court
(EC/IC)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
