Pafos Live 9 September 2025
Serious problems in the institutional framework, which governs the management of incapacitated persons and the procedures for compulsory psychiatric hospitalization, were reported to the Human Rights Committee of the Parliament.
MPs and experts spoke of an "outdated system", human rights violations and abuses by relatives who take advantage of legal loopholes to gain control over the properties of vulnerable people. As it was emphasized, institutional changes must be made immediately, with respect for human rights and the international commitments of the Republic of Cyprus.
The discussion focused on the protection of the rights of persons for whom an application is submitted to the Court for compulsory psychiatric hospitalization, but also of persons whose management of their property and the management of their cases are undertaken, following a court decision, by an administrator. The lawyer and Professor of the University of Nicosia, Achilleas Emilianides, stated that in a multitude of cases, relatives proceed with applications for compulsory hospitalization for people in order to gain an advantage in property disputes.
As he argued, there are decisions of the Supreme Court that prove that the system is vulnerable to abuse, with inadequate examination by psychiatrists and the absence of a meaningful hearing of the persons concerned.
"Our institutional system is suffering," he stressed, calling for the adoption of European practices based on the principle of the autonomy of the person.
He cited as an example the "leading wheels", which apply in the US and Germany, through which a person can determine in advance who will make decisions on his behalf if he becomes incapacitated.
"The institutional framework needs significant revisions. It is very important that you have opened this issue, because it is an issue that has been going on for many years without anyone touching it and it is one of the big problems we face today I think in the field of human rights", said Mr. Emilianidis addressing the members of the Committee.
