Filenews 19 June 2022- by Michalis Hadjivasilis
Extremely important bills that shake up the stagnant waters and bring radical changes in the daily lives of groups of citizens are being prepared by the office of the Commissioner for Legislation, in cooperation with the competent ministries. At this stage they are in the works or their preparation has been completed, pioneering draft laws that will change the daily lives of many people, or will solve decades-old problems. The Commissioner for Legislation Louisa Christodoulidou Zannetou mentions in "F", indicatively:
> The bill that allows with a simple application the change of gender and identity,
>The bill enshrining the profession of artist,
>The bill concerning apartment buildings that will facilitate communal life,
>The bill on the integration of people with disabilities,
>The anti-doping bill and,
>The bill for the establishment of a Multifunctional Complex for the promotion of agrotourism and livestock farming, as well as the increase of penalties for causing fires.
The Commissioner's big complaint is that her office is understaffed.
One of the important bills, as explained by the Commissioner for Legislation to the "F", which was recently delivered, concerns the institutionalization of the principle of mountainous and the mountain policy of the Government. The National Strategy for the Development of Mountain Communities (ESAOK) was approved by the Council of Ministers and includes actions that require the monitoring of their implementation. The Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities forwarded the issue of drafting a bill to the Council of Ministers and began a very interesting cooperation between the two Commissioners and the competent ministries that eventually resulted in a bill. The bill defines as mountainous areas the areas with an altitude of 500 metres and above, while at the same time it introduces a mechanism for monitoring the Government's strategy through the establishment of a Ministerial Committee that is responsible for defining the policy concerning mountainous areas, including ESAOK. Furthermore, a Monitoring and Implementation Committee of ESAOK is created for its enrichment, updating and expansion, as well as the promotion, monitoring, evaluation and control of its implementation.
>Recognition of the artist
Another important bill that was drafted recently concerns the recognition of the social and professional status of the artist. The bill was completed and sent to the Minister of Education, but it will probably now be discussed with the Deputy Minister of Culture. With this bill, a proposal is made for the creation of a Chamber of Arts as a legal entity of public law which will be subject to the supervision and control of the Deputy Ministry of Culture. Its purpose is to promote artistic creation in the Republic of Cyprus, to ensure the right to free artistic expression and artistic work in all areas of the arts and of course to safeguard artists. The members of the Chamber will be able to be artists from various fields of arts such as literature, literature, poetry, visual arts, applied arts, theatre, film, television and audiovisual arts, music and dance. There will be a register of artists' unions in which all registered associations with legal personality will be kept.
>The Anti-Doping Committee
Another recent example of the assignment of legislative work by the Council of Ministers to the Commissioner is the establishment of the Independent Anti-Doping Authority and the compliance of the Republic with the principles set by the International UNESCO Convention against Doping in Sport. Our Office, the Commissioner said, has recently been working intensively, among other serious bills, towards the completion of the bill. The purpose of the law under development is to regulate issues related to the fight against doping in sports, the protection of the health of athletes, the guarantee of healthy competition and equal opportunities in sporting events and the preservation of the integrity of sports through the establishment and scope of the Independent Anti-Doping Authority as a National Anti-Doping Agency.
The Commissioner for Legislation stressed that "it is both a personal bet for me and for my Office to contribute the most, with hard work, offering a holistic solution to regulate the issue, while setting high goals. The formation of solid foundations to support athletes in the fight against the use of banned substances and the enhancement of healthy competition in sports was set as a priority.
>To the credit of Zeta - 'disability'
The latest decision of the Ministry that involves the Commissioner in the drafting of legislation is that of March 2022 and concerns the drafting of legislation that will ensure the social participation and integration of people with disabilities and their access to support services and benefits by maintaining upgrading and expanding existing benefits and services. "It is an honour," notes the Commissioner, that for this very important work, the late Minister of Labour, Zeta Emilianidou, chose me and suggested that I be involved to work with her and with the Department of Social Integration of People with Disabilities and on the basis of social dialogue. Such was the minister's interest that I will honour her memory together with the director of the Department for the best result."
Multifunctional Visitable Farm
An important bill that is in the works in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, with the working group and with the contribution of a private lawyer, concerns the creation and operation of Multifunctional Visited Farms throughout the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
The aim, according to Mrs. Zannetou, is to promote agriculture and livestock farming through other activities and services that promote their product. The visited Multifunctional Farm or "EPA", will operate under a relevant license as an independent, unified and organized development and unified management, with emphasis on the local production potential of each region. At the same time, the EAV will have as its main use the agricultural and/or livestock activity, which is accompanied by other relevant forms of extra-agricultural and stockbreeding activities, such as education, information, training of visitors and users, the monitoring of the production process or cottage-technical processing and the promotion of environmental issues related to agricultural production. The visitor will also be given the opportunity to live on the farm.
"This is an extremely interesting bill for Cyprus that will help farmers and ranchers. It will soon be completed and sent to the Ministry of Agriculture, for its further promotion", stresses the Commissioner for Legislation.
Commissioner for Legislation without a legislative framework
Despite the fact that the institution of the Commissioner for Legislation has been operating since 1971, (it is the oldest institution of the Commissioner) there is no legislative framework regulating its responsibilities and duties, resulting in operational difficulties in the responsibilities and staffing of the Office. Unfortunately, the work of this multifaceted institution has not yet been made known to the general public, says the Commissioner. "It is a pity," he observes, to have institutions and people who want to work and not to use them and not to reinforce them with the right staff. With proper use, excellent results will be obtained. I am particularly saddened by the fact that the institution does not participate in discussions before bodies, such as the House of Representatives, on issues it has studied in order to contribute to the realization of the framework for the development and renewal of the law", he stresses.
The Commissioner drafted a bill for two years and has been forwarding it to the relevant ministry since November 2020. He informed the President of the Republic himself and the House of Representatives of this regard. She hopes that the bill will be pushed through soon. The separation of the two institutions of the Commissioner for Legislation and the Commissioner for Children's Rights, brought positive results for the Government. Mrs. Zannetou, however, does not hide her disappointment at the small number of people who staff her Service, which prevents her from producing more work for the revision of the legislation, but also for the other services offered by her Office.
Sharp increase in penalties for fires
The Commissioner for Legislation had an active role in the revision of the legislative framework for fires that began in the summer of 2021. On the initiative of the Attorney General and in cooperation with the Ministers of Interior, Justice and Agriculture, a working group was set up to study in depth all the relevant legislations. The aim was to improve the framework, to take a stricter approach to wrongdoers with the aim of deterrence, to tighten up laws that had lighter penalties, to deal with offences on the basis of risk and the outcome. Also, the possibility of extrajudicial regulation of offences, the doubling of the extrajudicial when there is repetition and the identification of penalties so that there is no different treatment of the same or similar offences in different laws. The bills have already been prepared and sent by the Commissioner for Legislation, who coordinated the whole effort, to the competent ministers for further action.
The Forest Law separates the offences of endangerment and result with sentences of 5-10 years in prison. It will now be possible to settle offences out of court by referring to a list of penalties, while there will be the possibility of prosecuting the offender if the fire causes damage to any forest or wooded area or immovable property of a third person or bodily injury or death to a person or animal. The Fire Prevention in the countryside will be replaced by a new revised law. It is suggested to increase sentences from five to ten years for some offenses due to reckless or negligent action, behaviour or omission or failure to take all the necessary precautions. Also, there are offences that may be subject to an extrajudicial settlement according to the Table, in an amount that is doubled in a second violation. In the Penal Code there will be an increase in a sentence from two years to five when a person in a reckless, hasty or negligent manner, who endangers human life, commits by fire or any combustible material or fails to take precautions against a possible danger arising from the fire or from any combustible material in his possession.
In the Municipalities Law, which currently exists an offence that criminalizes combustion within any municipal boundaries of various materials and is punishable by a fine of €860 or a prison sentence not exceeding 3 months, the prison sentence will now be increased to five years or even ten depending on the result.
Apartment buildings
Also, recently drafted bills concerning common buildings (apartment buildings). In collaboration with the Department of Lands, the Commissioner elaborated a new bill that is quite innovative regarding the framework for communal buildings in the Republic for their management and their proper functioning, as well as on ways to implement the financial obligations of the owners. It is proposed to create a competent Service of Common Buildings and Supervision of the Operation of Management Committees in the Municipalities, which will be responsible for the registration and supervision of the management of the communal buildings while at the same time it will have the rights of intervention. This is a very important bill which will solve a number of problems that currently exist in communal buildings, the most serious being the issue of non-payment of common expenses. Furthermore, the bill provides for ways of collecting the common expenses through a lawsuit in the court in which it will not be possible to register a defence unless the communal fees are paid.
Change gender identity with only one application
One of the most important bills drafted by the Office of the Commissioner for Legislation, concerns the legal recognition of gender identity, that is, the process in which the person requests the change of gender in official documents, so that in the identity card, passport, birth certificate, etc., reflect the gender identity.
Today, the vast majority of countries in the Council of Europe have introduced legislation that allows gender identity to be changed. The legal recognition of gender identity is now considered essential, above all, by European human rights law and therefore the need to regulate the issue is necessary. In Cyprus, the debate began a long time ago with a bill of the Ministry of Justice. "After assuming my duties," says the Commissioner, due to my responsibilities related to human rights and the monitoring of the Republic's compliance with international conventions and the identification of loopholes in legislation, but also because of my interest in the matter, I was asked to work with the advisor to the President of the Republic for Multiculturalism and acceptance of Diversity, Mr. Costas Gavriilidis. We made improvements to the text that we eventually sent to the competent ministry and the text has already been forwarded to the Legal Service for legislative technical control."
The basic principle of the law is the self-determination of the individual, that is, what one believes or feels about themselves and their gender. To emphasize that no surgery is required to apply. This is a simple application procedure to the Registrar or the Director of the Civil Registry and Migration Department, if it is a foreigner. It is also possible for minors, provided that the application is made by the parents and a court decision is required, after the unanimous opinion of a scientific committee has been heard. Upon presentation of the gender identity recognition certificate to be issued by the Registrar, new documents or certificates and/or new registrations are issued by all competent bodies with the registered gender, the main name and the form of the applicant's surname revised, so as to reflect the new gender. The person must immediately inform all the competent Departments, Services and bodies of the public or private sector of the change of their data, and make representations for the necessary changes in the registers and records they keep and if they do not do so, they commit an offence. If the person has children, their rights and obligations towards them are not affected nor is the child's birth certificate affected. Any person to whom the certificate of recognition of gender identity or change of data is obtained is subject to a duty of confidentiality and is guilty of a criminal offence if they disclose it anywhere. There is also a right of hierarchical appeal to the Minister if a request is rejected. The process of gender identity recognition can be done up to twice. At the moment, the bill is in the process of legislative technical scrutiny.
