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"The issue of extending substantive review to administrative disputes and the compliance of the Administration with decisions on administrative disputes"
Thanking you all for your presence here, I welcome you to the Scientific Conference on Administrative Law organized by the newly established Foundation for Parliamentarism and Participatory Democracy of the House of Representatives, in cooperation with the Academy and the Administrative Law Section of the Legal Service of the Republic. This is the first joint educational event held with the House of Representatives and the presence of so many distinguished speakers and guests honors the organizers and the Academy of the Legal Service, which in a short period of time since its operation, has highlighted the role and work envisioned at its inception.
Without further ado, on the subject matter of the conference, and appreciating as highly interesting the issues on which the distinguished speakers will be interested in the following, my statement will focus on two burning main issues concerning Administrative Law, namely the question of the extension of administrative disputes of substance to administrative judicial review, and the question of the compliance of the Administration with the decisions of the Administrative Courts.
At the outset, I could not fail to mention - even if only briefly - the nerve centre that Administrative Law occupies in the Cypriot legal order. A position of undoubted importance for the consolidation of the necessary relationship of trust between citizens and the State. This "almighty State" which, however, must respect the rights of its citizens and act in accordance with the principles of the Rule of Law, applying the principles of the Principle of Legitimacy and Good Administration.
Having said that, I must observe that in the Greek legal order - from which the tradition of Cyprus' administrative law is largely derived - substantive control over and above the control of legality carried out by the Court of Justice has been in place for decades. Nevertheless, in Cyprus this is being attempted for the first time in 2015. I refer to the 8th Amendment to the Constitution and subsequently, the enactment of the 2015 Law on the Establishment and Operation of the Administrative Court and the 2018 Law on the Establishment and Operation of the Administrative Court of International Protection, by which Special Administrative Courts are now competent to hear Appeals, at first instance.
In addition to the operation of the Administrative Court in 2016 and the operation of the Administrative Court of International Protection in 2019, but also the "transfer" of administrative justice in principle to Special Courts, in 2015 the possibility of an exceptional, substantive review of administrative disputes is introduced, but limited by the Constitution itself to tax issues and issues of international protection under European Union law, always subject to the legislative provision.
Nine years later, in 2022, with the positive judicial experience of the 17th Constitutional Amendment, a constitutional amendment initiated by the initiator of today's event, the parliamentary representative of DIKO, MP and friend Panikos Leonidou, the constitutional restriction on the examination of substantive issues in tax and asylum matters is now lifted, opening the framework for further substantialization of administrative disputes, "as the law shall determine".
This is in line with the general trend, which the Continental legal systems are already following, from which the Cypriot legal order draws guidance with regard to administrative law. But also the consolidation of European requirements for "full jurisdiction", primarily in relation to disputes falling within the scope of the European Convention on Human Rights. Although - as has already been considered - the concept of annulment review does not a priori overturn the requirement for the assumption of full jurisdiction by the judicial bodies for the resolution of administrative disputes, nor does it prevent the competence of the national annulment judge, nevertheless, the general trend in the context of administrative law is moving towards a broader materialisation of administrative disputes. A trend more in line with the spirit of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, providing the administrative judge with the power of final resolution of the dispute without the need to refer the matter back to the administration, and thus providing more effective and immediate protection to the citizen.
I hope that the expansion of substantive litigation will provide the citizens of this State with further tools and guarantees for the exercise of their legal rights.
Moving now to the second pillar of this workshop, it is a fact that the constitutional legislature has elevated the obligation to comply with annulment decisions to a constitutional one, in accordance with Article 146.5 of the Constitution. The Administration must actively comply with them, within the framework of the Principle of Legitimacy, Good Administration and the Rule of Law.
However, in practice, as far as compliance with annulment judgments is concerned, I can only reiterate that judgments that cannot find real effect leave our legal system exposed.
As the European Court of Human Rights has occasionally indicated, the right of access to court is not only a theoretical right that guarantees the recognition of a claim by a final judgment, but also includes the legitimate expectation that the judgment will be enforced. Court decisions that may be delayed in being enforced on the merits may lead to a breakdown of the rule of law and a breakdown of the necessary relationship of trust between citizens and the State.
As the guardian institution of the rule of law, the Attorney General of the Republic can only encourage the process of finalising the relevant bill on compliance with court decisions, which is currently being processed by the Ministry of Justice and Public Order. The final passage of this bill into law will, I hope, mark a new chapter in further strengthening and reinforcing the relationship of trust between citizens and the State, as well as further enhancing the concept of the Rule of Law and the Principle of Legitimacy of Administrative Action, which is the cornerstone of democratic governance.
This discussion, therefore, I believe, will provide a basis for further development of Cyprus Administrative Law on the topics under discussion. As with the creation of the Cyprus Administrative Court, the creative guidance of the Greek example is sought at this very important juncture in its development. I am sure that today's guests will contribute with their speeches to the upcoming discussions on these very important and topical issues.
In conclusion, allow me to warmly congratulate my friend MP Panicos Leonidou who, in addition to what I mentioned earlier about taking the legislative initiative for the adoption of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, was the inspiration for organizing today's event, the Director General of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Tasoula Hieronymidou, who embraced the initiative, and of course the Head of the Academy of the Legal Service, Attorney Dr. Despina Kyprianou and the Executive Secretariat of our Academy, as well as all those who worked hard to organize today's event. My special thanks to the honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives, my friend Anita Demetriou, for accepting to co-organize the event with the newly established Parliamentarianism and Participatory Democracy Foundation of the House of Representatives and the Academy of Legal Services. An action that falls within the common desire, I believe, to strengthen relations between the House of Representatives and the Legal Service of the Republic, a strengthening that we have been aiming for with the Assistant Attorney General since we took over the reins of the Legal Service.
Finally, I thank the distinguished speakers for their presence here, confident that today's workshop will provide food for thought to the amendments under consideration to the Administrative Law in our country. I am sure that all those present here today will have the opportunity to attend a thoroughly beneficial and fruitful discussion.
(ML)
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