Filenews 2 January 2021
Article by Justice Minister Emily Yolitis in the Special Edition of the Liberal: "The Next Day – How we Proceed"
Justice reform is a vision and a stated objective of this Government. A goal that doesn't stay on paper as a theory. We are moving forward with the implementation of this reform, which we fully believe in. Our position, which I think everyone involved in this effort is embracing, is that our judicial system needs radical change. This is because the speed with which justice is awarded to our country today does not honour us. On the contrary, it damages citizens' confidence in the judicial system. Every day we hear citizens complain about the slow speed of hearing their cases. And they're right. After all, late justice is not justice - a position with which we fully agree.
Completing the reform initiated by my predecessors is clearly one of my highest priorities. When we talk about reform, we are talking about the fundamental reconstruction of the justice system, since it will fundamentally and innovatively change the way, but also the speed of the administration of justice.
To date, important and substantial work has been done. The Administrative Court and the Administrative Court of International Protection have already been established and operate. In addition, the Courts were strengthened by the creation of new judicial posts and the narrowing system was extended to immediately record the minutes of the judicial process. Important bills have been tabled and are pending in the House, providing for the creation of special jurisdiction courts, which will lead to specialization of Judges, such as the Commercial Court and the Court of Justice, and a new Court of Appeal for the expedited adjudication of appeals. A bill is also pending to extend the jurisdictional levels of the Superior District Judge and the District Judge to ensure greater flexibility in the case-sharing system. Recently, the bills for the establishment and operation of the Faculty of Judges were passed, which will lead to their continuous and regular education, essential for ensuring the quality of justice.
With regard to the bills on the restructuring of the highest levels of justice, a Working Party was set up under my chairmanship to re-consult them, with a view to finalising the arrangements with the broadest possible consent. I hope that very soon we will come up with mutually acceptable solutions.
Of course, in addition to the bills, there are actions promoted by the Supreme Court, under its exclusive constitutional jurisdiction, such as the revision of the Institutions of Civil Procedure, which have recently been translated into Greek and, with their forthcoming formal approval by the Supreme Court, the training of judges and lawyers on them will proceed.
Let us not forget the advanced computerisation of the courts, which, until its full implementation, will operate in the next period, a system of electronic registration of documents, with immediate, visible results, as well as the imminent introduction of the system of digital record-keeping, but also the task of clearing the volume of delayed cases in the jurisdiction at first instance, which is currently being piloted in the Paphos District Court and as shown by the statistics , successfully. At a later stage, the creation of new structures for the administration of the Courts will follow, with Services dealing with administrative matters.
Justice reform is by nature a far-right issue, requiring both continuous consultation and cooperation with the Supreme Court and the Cyprus Bar Association, under the advice of the Attorney General. My wish and my aim is for everyone to become a society of this effort. I have to say that it is with great satisfaction that I receive their positivity for the reform and I would like to thank them for the homogeneity with which we are all working together in this direction.
Finally, a very important pillar of the reform is the building upgrade of the Courts. At the moment, there is in full swing a very large building upgrade programme, at a cost of many millions, for housing the existing and the courts under recommendation.
I would like to assure you that the reform is progressing at a satisfactory pace, methodically and with steady steps. We want to offer the citizen a modern judicial system, without the weight of slow speed that is currently being observed in the hearing of their cases. I have constant contacts with the political parties and I am at everyone's disposal for discussion and I will operate in pursuit of the maximum possible consensus from all political parties, so that in a short period of time the reform will take shape.
