Filenews 20 December 2025 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
An independent body that will examine prisoners' complaints about ill-treatment as well as their living conditions is set up by a bill prepared by the Ministry of Justice and recently sent to the Legal Service for legal review.
This is the Prison Council, which completely changes its form and from the District Officer of Nicosia, who was until today its president and members of a number of officials, becomes independent and most importantly its decisions are binding on the Director of Prisons. This development comes after the conviction of the ECtHR in 2022 which ruled that there are no effective treatments as required by Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in allegations violation of Article 3 due to the conditions of detention in the Prisons. The bill gives prisoners the opportunity to submit a complaint to the Prison Council, while it is provided that the members of the Council can also proceed to an ex officio examination of the conditions of detention of a prisoner.
According to the bill, an independent Prison Council is established, with the responsibility of examining the conditions of detention and treatment of prisoners in Prisons. The Prison Council shall consist of seven members appointed by the Council of Ministers, provided that:
(a) They are citizens of the Republic and have their habitual residence in the areas controlled by the Republic.
(b) Have proven professional experience in prison, prison policy or human rights issues.
(c) Hold a degree of university level recognized in the Republic in a field related to the examination of complaints of a nature submitted to the Council, including law, psychology, sociology, criminology, medicine.
(d) They have fulfilled their military obligations or have been legally exempted from them.
(e) They maintain a clean criminal record.
(f) They have not been dismissed or terminated in the past by the public service or any service or body governed by public law of the Republic or of the European Union or of any Member State due to a disciplinary offence.
(g) They do not have any administrative, institutional or other relationship with the Prisons, and will not acquire any direct or indirect financial or other interest or benefit from the exercise of their duties.
Its composition changes in relation to the current Council, since one of its members is an officer of the Office of the Commissioner for Administration and three members come from the state service or the wider public sector. The remaining three members of the Council may not be civil servants, public educational officers, members of the Police, the Cyprus Fire Service or the Armed Forces, employees of a local authority or a legal person or public benefit organization established by a Law for the public interest, or be state or party officials.
The president of the Prison Council, unlike now, who is always the current District Officer of Nicosia, is appointed by the Council of Ministers, while another member is elected by the Prison Council as vice-president. The term of office of its members has a duration of three years with the possibility of renewal by the Council of Ministers once for another three years.
Complaint or ex officio
One of the most basic provisions of the bill is that every prisoner is given the right to submit, in person or through a lawyer, a complaint to the Prison Council regarding the conditions of detention or treatment in the Prisons. Individual complaints may be submitted in writing or orally, and the Prison Board keeps a record of the complaints submitted to it. The Prison Council also has the power to examine the conditions of detention and the treatment of any prisoner following an oral or written complaint or ex officio.
In order to examine the conditions of detention or treatment of a prisoner following a complaint or ex officio, the Prison Council may carry out 24 hours a day, within the Prisons, investigations that it deems necessary, which are carried out by any of its members and consist of recording events without establishing any judgment on the matter.
It is also provided that the decision of the Prison Council is binding on the director of the Prisons, who must take compliance actions. A prisoner whose conditions of detention have been examined may appeal against the decision of the Prison Council.
For criminal charges to the Police
The Council does not decide on any criminal, disciplinary or civil liability of any person and in the event that, in the exercise of its responsibilities, it becomes aware of any information regarding the commission of a criminal or disciplinary offense or negligence of duty, it discloses it to the Police and the Director of the Prisons, respectively.
In addition to complaints from prisoners, the Council also examines the condition of the Prison buildings and submits a report to the Minister of Justice and the Director with suggestions regarding any repairs, additions or modifications it deems necessary.
