in-cyprus 18 July 2024
A significant step forward was made yesterday with the submission by the Minister of Justice and Public Order to the House of Representatives of the regulations governing the operation of juvenile detention facilities.
These regulations were a prerequisite for the government to proceed with the project. It is considered an important step towards the creation of juvenile detention centres and the implementation of the child-friendly justice reform legislation passed by the House in 2021.
The Minister of Justice, Marios Hartsiotis, prioritised this issue and promoted the regulations on the operation of the juvenile detention structure to the Law Office, where they underwent legislative review. They were then adjusted to comply with the relevant legislation and submitted to the House for a vote yesterday.
The Ministry of Justice is racing against the clock to meet the deadlines set in January when the implementation of the law regarding juvenile detention was postponed due to the lack of space outside prisons. The House, through a government bill, converted a special area within the Central Prisons as the temporary place of detention for juveniles, with a deadline of 1/1/2026 for the completion of the new structure.
Now, the ball is in the court of the House to swiftly vote on the regulations to allow for the project to be tendered. The tender details are already prepared, and the structure is estimated to cost over €790,000. Additionally, detention officers will need to be recruited to staff the facility.
The procedures for identifying and creating a detention space for children outside prisons are expected to move forward following the approval of the regulations.
According to the 2021 legislation, one of the most important reforms established by the child-friendly law is the operation of a special detention space for children outside prisons.
This space must have a reformative, pedagogical, therapeutic, and welfare character and meet international and European standards for such facilities. Individuals aged 16 to 21 who are either convicted by the Court to a sentence of imprisonment or are remanded in custody for an offence committed or allegedly committed before their 18th birthday will be held in this facility.
On 30/7/2021, the Cabinet authorised the former Minister of Justice and Public Order to take the necessary steps to identify and create a special detention space for children, in accordance with the public contract procedures provided for in the relevant legislation.
The Ministry of Justice is considering a location between Nicosia and Larnaca for the construction of the Juvenile Detention Centre. The successful bidder, following the tender process, will be responsible for the construction of the facility. According to our information, the design includes the construction of 15-20 cells.
State to oversee security
Based on an earlier decision by the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order prepared a draft decree to allow the security of the facility to be assigned to a private security services provider.
During the discussion in the House Finance Committee on the Ministry of Justice’s request to release the budget for the operation of the facility, MPs expressed concerns and reservations about the government’s intention to outsource security to the private sector.
Taking into account the MPs’ concerns and recognising the seriousness and sensitive aspects of the issue, and in consultation with the Ministry of Finance, it was deemed safer to assign security responsibility to the state sector.
For this reason, 12 detention officer positions were included and approved in the 2023 budget, and the recruitment processes will now move forward.
Following this development, the Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Law Department of the University of Cyprus, under a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier, prepared a comprehensive modern Regulatory Framework for the operation of the facility.
The public consultation process was completed, and the final text was sent to the Law Office on 2/10/2023 for legislative review. Yesterday, the regulations were submitted to the House, paving the way for the tender process to begin.
Under the Regulations, the juvenile detention centre will be constructed and managed by a private entity, while security will be entrusted to the state. The facility will have a manager responsible for its management and a security manager.
It is worth noting that the Larnaca Children’s Court, in a decision on a specific case, noted the absence of a special detention space outside prisons.
In fact, because the legislation had not been amended to temporarily designate a special wing in the prisons as a juvenile detention space, the Larnaca Children’s Court had not sent an individual accused of serious sexual offences to prison.
Currently, around 20 individuals aged 18-21 are held in the “Special 8” wing of the Central Prisons, mostly for immigration-related offences (human trafficking).
