Filenews 13 May 2025 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
The Judicial Service not been left unscathed by the Audit Service, which in its report finds deficiencies in control and good administration, while some problems persist.
The report of the Audit Office, released today, records the disappearance of books from the library of the Supreme Court, the renewal of the contract of a former President of the Supreme Court for the work of clearing overdue cases "while he had no more work to do", four lawyers of the same family undertake most of the legal aid cases in Limassol, delays in the issuance of judgments lead to convictions by the ECtHR and the buildings of the Courts are among the most energy-intensive.
Among the most important findings are the following:
• The rest leave granted to the Judges of the Courts of First Instance and consequently its accumulation is not documented, at the same time that it has been established as a practice to consider in their faith the maximum permissible limit of accrued leave upon their retirement. Non-compliance with the Public Service (Granting of Leaves) Regulations, in relation to the sick leave of Judges.
• The Supreme Court entrusted the task of clearing the arrears of cases to its former President, without competition, considering him as the only suitable. The initial agreement was signed in 2022 with an annual allowance of €42,000 and was renewed in 2023 on the same terms, despite his admission that his core work would be completed in June 2023. Although in November 2023 he said that there was no longer any substantial work to be done, the Supreme Court renewed his contract again until June 2024.
• The low energy efficiency of the Supreme Court buildings undoubtedly leads to increased electricity costs, since for the year 2023 it had amounted to €389,769.
• There were delays in the issuance of judgments, leading to convictions by the ECtHR, which imposed fines against the Republic.
Books make wings
• A lack of a supervision mechanism was also recorded in the management of movable property, with the loss of 2,206 books from the library of the Supreme Court, while important financial issues remain pending since the termination of the license for the use of the canteens of the District Courts of Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos. In particular, from a physical count of the books of the Supreme Court library in 2017, it was found that 2,062 books were not located, despite the efforts made to find them and approval was requested for their deletion. In a new count and recording of the books of the Supreme Court library conducted in 2023, 2,206 books were not found, despite the efforts made to find them and the General Accounting Office requested, on 10.4.2024, approval for their deletion.
• Problems were also found in the management of the provision of legal aid, since there are no clear penalties for false declarations, nor is it necessary to document the financial situation of the applicants. There were also delays in the submission of costs and in the payment of lawyers for legal aid. We also found that a small number of lawyers, who in some cases are also relatives, took on the largest proportion of legal aid cases. Indicatively, the case of the Limassol District Court is mentioned, where eight lawyers, four of whom came from the same family, undertook the representation of 67% of the approved legal aid cases for the year 2022.
Solicitation of clients by lawyers
• On 8.6.2023, our Service received a complaint in relation to the provision of legal aid, through client solicitation in the detention facilities of the Nicosia District Court, by two out of nine lawyers who receive the majority of these cases. From an investigation of this complaint, we found that, in the year 2023, the total number of NA cases undertaken by these two lawyers until 23.11.2023, amounted to 102 out of 434 approved cases or 24%, while three other lawyers showed a very large increase (between 171% and 700%) in the number of NA cases assigned to them.
• Cases of lawyers who were not registered in the VAT Register were identified, even though their earnings from legal aid exceeded the threshold that makes it mandatory to register in it, i.e. €15,600.
• Incorrect updating of the Arrest Warrant Register with all warrants executed/cancelled/returned by the Police, in order to give a correct picture of the actual number of Arrest Warrants pending. Inadequate monitoring of the execution of the Guardianship Decrees in order to establish that the relevant reports are submitted by the Social Welfare Services (SSS) within the time limits set in the court decisions. Delay in the issuance of 285 maintenance decrees in the Limassol District Court, since 2011 by a specific Judge, as a result of which the beneficiaries are unable to collect the amounts owed to them, which amount to a total of €145,145.
• Concession of free special parking spaces within the Courts, to the members of the Bar Associations, for the construction of which the State has borne significant costs.
Strengthening internal control
According to the Auditor General Andreas Papaconstantinou, in general, the findings highlight that there is significant room for improvement in the efficiency and good administration of the Judicial Service, while some issues/problems are long-standing. Undoubtedly, the large amount of work that the Judicial Service is called upon to manage, even under unfavourable conditions with regard to the wider context of building facilities, is recognized. It is for this reason that the strengthening of internal control mechanisms and the adoption of corrective measures to ensure the more effective administrative operation of the Judicial Service emerges as even more important.
