in-cyprus 16 April 2020 -Bouli Hadjioannou
The administrative court on Thursday rejected an application by a student in the UK asking for a court order to be allowed to return to Cyprus, CNA reports.
The legal suit preceded the latest decree, issued by the Health Minister last night, opening up repatriations for all Cypriots and permanent residents.
Initially, students had been excluded from the categories permitted to return, with the government coming under fire for banning its own citizens from coming home — something critics said was unconstitutional.
The applicant had argued that the requirement that only those with a health certificate proving they were free of coronavirus be allowed to return — which was initially required even though many said it was unobtainable — violated Article 14 of the constitution.
But the court said that this was a regulatory, administrative act of legislative content which cannot be challenged under Article 146 and was outside the jurisdiction of the current court.
This meant the recourse was rejected without a hearing.
CNA said a second legal challenge submitted before the Nicosia district court by a second student was also rejected.
Both are the first decisions by local courts on challenges to the government measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
