OPEN WOUNDS IN JUSTICE - STAGNANT COMMERCIAL COURT, NAVAL COURT AND NEW BUILDINGS OF NICOSIA - WAITING FOR iJUSTICE UPGRADE - Filenews 28/2 by Michalis Chatzivasilis
It is no coincidence that in recent years there has been a decrease in court cases, since citizens do not resort to justice, because they know that they will suffer for years, especially for civil disputes. According to data provided by the Minister of Justice in Parliament, to date 70% of the cases that were delayed until 2018 have been cleared, while Cyprus' commitment was for 40% by mid-2026. But what about the cases of 2019-2020 and beyond, while the projects related to the administration of the courts, the construction of a new Courthouse for Nicosia and the establishment of a Naval Court and a Commercial Court remain stagnant, despite the fact that the relevant law was passed four years ago.
The issue of the implementation of what was recorded in a 2018 report of the European Commission on justice and the progress of the implementation of the recommendations, was raised by MP Charalambos Theopemptou with his question. The findings of the report mainly concerned the management part of the operation of the courts (management). In response, the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Kostas Fytiris, said that the work of monitoring the procedures for the administration of justice is continuous, which is why in recent years it has been developed and there is close cooperation with all those involved.
Regarding the recommendations recorded in the report of the experts (March 2018), who carried out, with technical assistance from the European Commission's Structural Reform Support Service (SRSS), a broad study on the reorganization of the structure and operation of the courts, the minister states that an action plan had been drawn up for the implementation of the recommendations and a Court Reform Committee was appointed, composed of representatives of all bodies directly involved in the reform, which monitored, supported and facilitated the promotion and implementation of the actions.
Specifically, based on the Action Plan, among others, the following projects/measures have been promoted and completed in recent years, or are still in progress:
> Backlog Clearance Project: One of the experts' recommendations, which has been given immediate priority. This work, which is the responsibility of the Supreme Court, is directly linked to the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which sets as a condition the processing of cases in specific time frames. Specifically, according to the obligation undertaken by the Republic under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the percentage of all pending cases should be reduced by 20% by June 2024 and by 40% by June 2026, always in relation to 2018 levels. According to information from the Supreme Court, to date 70% of the pending cases have been cleared, always in relation to 2018 levels.
> New Rules of Civil Procedure: Entered into force on 1 September 2023 for cases registered from that date. The new Regulations are simpler to implement than the previous ones and enable the court to administer justice in a timely and effective manner, since the timetables of the case, including the dates of its hearing, will be determined in advance.
> Determination of objective criteria for the recruitment and promotion of Judges:
– In July 2019, the Supreme Court published the procedure and criteria for the recruitment and evaluation of Judges.
– In October 2019, the Supreme Court published the procedure and criteria for the promotion of Judges.
> Establishment and Operation of the School of Judges: In 2020, the bills were passed into laws. The School of Judges was established in the Supreme Court, the Council was established and operates, which is responsible for supervising the operation of the school, and at the same time the director of the school was appointed, as well as the rest of the staff who staff the School.
> Establishment and operation of an Administrative Court for International Protection: The Court began its operation on 18 June 2019 with three Judges and was later strengthened with two more. In order to cope with and effectively deal with the registration of the large volume of appeals, the law was amended again and the number of Judges who will make up this Court was increased from five to 10.
> Commercial Court and Naval Court: The laws were passed in May 2022. These two very important separate Courts will, respectively, undertake the adjudication, with expedited procedures, of commercial disputes of a large amount of dispute and all maritime cases. The positions of the Judges of the Naval Court were recently announced.
According to the answer of the Minister of Justice, the following remain to be implemented:
– A bill is pending in the House of Representatives that provides for the extension of the scales of jurisdiction of the Senior District Judge and the District Judge.
– Strengthening alternative dispute resolution / Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Bill on the institution of mediation
A bill to strengthen the institution of mediation is pending in the House of Representatives. An innovative change is the introduction of the mandatory initial mediation session, in case the value of the difference is up to €5,000. In fact, penalties are provided for the party who does not attend the mandatory initial mediation session, since he loses his right to claim lawyers' fees and interest in relation to the court proceedings. With this regulation, the workload of the Courts is expected to be reduced and civil cases to be settled faster and at less cost. Although it is not provided for in the study, you are informed that the Ministry of Justice and Public Order has prepared a bill with the aim of modernizing arbitration. The new legislative framework for alternative dispute resolution covers all forms of arbitration, both domestic and international.
No light for a new Nicosia Court
Major long-standing wounds of Justice are the building facilities and the lack of a mechanism for the administration of the Courts. At the moment, the administration is exercised by the judges with all that this entails.
The first open wound concerns the new Nicosia District Court. There are plans, the cost increases as it delays and the Minister of Justice replied to MP Charalambos Theopemptou that it is simply "being implemented", without further details. It seems that the delay in signing an agreement with the United Nations is convenient for the government, since the project will exceed 100 million euros. euros.
Another wound concerns the digitization of the Courts. After the collapse of e-justice, we returned to the i-justice project funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan. It is expected, according to the Supreme Court, that its upgrade will be delivered next summer.
Administration of the Courts: According to Mr. Fytiris' answer, a more specific study is being prepared by the Supreme Court, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Public Administration and Personnel and the Ministry of Justice and Public Order.
