Filenews 14 February 2026 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
A powerful weapon in the efforts against organized crime was approved yesterday by the government, promoting in Parliament a very decisive bill which overturns the data and gives the prosecuting authorities perhaps the most powerful means they have ever had.
This is the bill that amends Article 17 of the Constitution, so that it is allowed, under strict conditions, to intercept telephone conversations as well as other forms of communication, in order to investigate serious cases that are currently difficult to detect by other means. Cyprus is the only one in Europe that does not allow conditional phone tapping, resulting in gaps and weaknesses in the investigation of serious crimes and illegals escaping punishment.
The bill defines additional offenses from those provided for by the already existing legislation, which, by the way, was passed on 21/2/2020, but was never implemented due to the technical problems invoked by mobile and fixed telephony providers. It is noted that phone monitoring was one of the seven recommendations of the FBI expert team invited by the government to Cyprus to strengthen the Cypriot authorities in dealing with crime, an issue that the President of the Republic himself referred to yesterday before the start of the Council of Ministers meeting.
The bill, the provisions of which are brought to light today by "F", will be referred to as "The Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution Law of 2026" and concerns the amendment of Article 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, which enshrines the right to confidentiality of correspondence and any other form of communication, providing for the cases in which interference with this right may be allowed. The purpose of the proposed law is to strengthen the regulatory framework to ensure the security and sovereignty of the Republic, as well as to deal more effectively with serious and organized crime.
The main provisions of the bill are the following:
(a) Broadening the grounds for lifting secrecy to include additional categories of serious criminal offences, including terrorism, espionage, sexual exploitation and abuse of children, migrant smuggling, online offences and money laundering. It also includes the addition of possession of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for the purpose of procurement as a recognized reason for lifting secrecy.
(b) Introduction of a written authorization from the Attorney General, for the lifting of secrecy if the intervention is deemed necessary in a democratic society for the security and/or sovereignty of the Republic. With the existing Article 17, the lifting of secrecy for security purposes requires a court order.
As mentioned, Article 17 of the Constitution is not included among the fundamental articles and may be amended by the House of Representatives. The proposed amendments are based on the law of necessity, taking into account the exceptional circumstances prevailing in the Republic of Cyprus, including the ongoing Turkish occupation.
The bill received the necessary legal technical review by the Attorney General and consultation with the Cyprus Police and the Cyprus Intelligence Service. The bill was presented by the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Kostas Fytiris, while after its approval by the Council of Ministers, it will be sent to the Parliament for discussion and voting.
The purpose of the law is to amend Article 17 of the Constitution, which establishes the right to the confidentiality of correspondence and any other form of communication, in order to strengthen the regulatory framework to ensure the security and sovereignty of the Republic, as well as the fight against serious criminal offenses and organized crime.
According to the provisions of the bill, it is allowed, under strict conditions and guarantees, to interfere with the right to confidentiality of communications in order to prevent, investigate or prosecute additional offenses than those already provided, such as terrorism, espionage, sexual exploitation and abuse of children, illegal trafficking of migrants, offenses committed via the internet and money laundering.
Furthermore, a new provision is introduced which will only require the written approval of the Attorney General of the Republic for the lifting of secrecy, since the intervention is a measure that in a democratic society is necessary only in the interest of preventing and dealing with activities that constitute a threat to the security and sovereignty of the Republic.
New offences included
– Premeditated murder, homicide or attempted murder.
– Trafficking in adults or minors, offences related to child pornography and offences related to the sexual exploitation or sexual abuse of children.
– Possession, possession for the purpose of supplying drugs.
– Terrorism and espionage offenses.
– Offenses of illegal smuggling of migrants and assisting illegal entry, transit and stay in the Republic.
– Offences committed via the internet for which, in case of conviction, a prison sentence of five years or more is provided.
– Money laundering offenses.
The new provision that is being introduced concerns the start of interception of telephone conversations only with the written approval of the Attorney General of the Republic "which is given in accordance with the provisions of the law and the intervention is a measure which, in a democratic society, is necessary only in the interest of preventing and dealing with activities that constitute a threat to the security and sovereignty of the Republic". That is, for offenses that threaten the security of the state, the involvement of the Court will not be required to secure approval for the interception of telephone conversations.
The conditions
According to the existing legislation, the interception of telephone conversations will be carried out by court order, by members of the Police and the KYP who will be authorized for this purpose.
The procedure to be followed will be as follows: The Attorney General, at the written request of the Chief of Police or the Commander of the KYP, will request the issuance of a court order for the surveillance of private communications if this is necessary in the interest of the security of the Republic or for the prevention, investigation or prosecution of serious criminal offenses. The application will be accompanied by an affidavit and a statement of facts with the details of the offences justifying the issuance of the court order. It is noted that the implementation of the legislation will be monitored by a three-member Committee.
