RULE OF LAW - ''DISTORTED AND VERY EXPENSIVE'' THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE, MICHAILIDIS TOLD THE INSTITUTION - Filenews 3/9 by Fanis Makridis
Some saw the glass half empty, others half full... This phrase reflects the trends recorded at yesterday's first meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions on the European Commission's report on the rule of law in Cyprus (2026).
Representatives of the executive and government departments focused on the progress that is being recorded, while, on the contrary, the majority of MPs focused on what needs to be done and the report's remarks on the issues that have not been resolved.
Characteristic of the second school of thought are what was expressed by MP Odysseas Michaelides, who spoke of the very high cost that the prosecuting authorities and the justice sector have for Cypriot citizens compared to European averages.
Citing a lengthy memorandum that was submitted, as well as an accompanying investigation co-signed by his colleagues at "Alma", Michalis Paraskevas and Litsa Drousioti, Mr. Michailidis commented that the Legal Service is "distorted, pathogenic and very expensive".
He previously quoted statistics saying that the average expenditure for the prosecuting authorities among the countries of the Council of Europe per capita for 2022 was €14, while the corresponding figure for Cyprus is €64 per capita.
He stressed that the government cannot be blamed for this fact and referred to the pending bill for the reform of the Attorney General's Office that is before the Parliament, wanting to say that the ball is in the legislative power.
Mr. Michaelides also referred to the reform of the judiciary and focused on the fact that although Cyprus in 2022 was below the average of European countries in terms of spending on the judicial service, however, as he said, "the budget of the Courts has skyrocketed". He explained that in 2022 it was at €41 million. and in 2028, it will amount to €70 million.
The above references to the judicial service were not left unaddressed by the Senior Registrar of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Maria Christodoulou. "As far as the budget is concerned, Mr. Michailidis, it is not as you have described it," he stressed and added: "You must take into account that new courts have been created. The budget of the judicial service has included the stenotype that was in the budget of the Department of Information Services, a very large amount and also the guarding of the Courts, which is also a very large amount." He also referred to the new hiring of judges and the fact that new courts operated.
He referred to the data that existed before the reform, the hundreds of applications submitted by lawyers and commented: "Give time to justice to function, give time to the Courts. The contribution of the judicial service for the better cannot be questioned."
In her initial statement, Ms. Christodoulou spoke about the well-known issue of filling judge positions, but also that there are no interested parties in offering administrative staff positions in the Courts.
During the meeting, reference was made several times to the operation of the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority and the actions taken in order to acquire permanent staff and investigative powers. The head of the Authority and Commissioner for Transparency, Haris Pogiatzis, citing a written memorandum submitted to the Parliament, said, among other things, that by August 31, 2026, a total of 911 complaints had been submitted to the Authority, while the examination of 645, i.e. 71%, had been completed.
Some saw the glass half empty, others half full... This phrase reflects the trends recorded at yesterday's first meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions on the European Commission's report on the rule of law in Cyprus (2026).
Representatives of the executive and government departments focused on the progress that is being recorded, while, on the contrary, the majority of MPs focused on what needs to be done and the report's remarks on the issues that have not been resolved.
Characteristic of the second school of thought are what was expressed by MP Odysseas Michaelides, who spoke of the very high cost that the prosecuting authorities and the justice sector have for Cypriot citizens compared to European averages.
Citing a lengthy memorandum that was submitted, as well as an accompanying investigation co-signed by his colleagues at "Alma", Michalis Paraskevas and Litsa Drousioti, Mr. Michailidis commented that the Legal Service is "distorted, pathogenic and very expensive".
He previously quoted statistics saying that the average expenditure for the prosecuting authorities among the countries of the Council of Europe per capita for 2022 was €14, while the corresponding figure for Cyprus is €64 per capita.
He stressed that the government cannot be blamed for this fact and referred to the pending bill for the reform of the Attorney General's Office that is before the Parliament, wanting to say that the ball is in the legislative power.
Mr. Michaelides also referred to the reform of the judiciary and focused on the fact that although Cyprus in 2022 was below the average of European countries in terms of spending on the judicial service, however, as he said, "the budget of the Courts has skyrocketed". He explained that in 2022 it was at €41 million. and in 2028, it will amount to €70 million.
The above references to the judicial service were not left unaddressed by the Senior Registrar of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Maria Christodoulou. "As far as the budget is concerned, Mr. Michailidis, it is not as you have described it," he stressed and added: "You must take into account that new courts have been created. The budget of the judicial service has included the stenotype that was in the budget of the Department of Information Services, a very large amount and also the guarding of the Courts, which is also a very large amount." He also referred to the new hiring of judges and the fact that new courts operated.
He referred to the data that existed before the reform, the hundreds of applications submitted by lawyers and commented: "Give time to justice to function, give time to the Courts. The contribution of the judicial service for the better cannot be questioned."
In her initial statement, Ms. Christodoulou spoke about the well-known issue of filling judge positions, but also that there are no interested parties in offering administrative staff positions in the Courts.
During the meeting, reference was made several times to the operation of the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority and the actions taken in order to acquire permanent staff and investigative powers. The head of the Authority and Commissioner for Transparency, Haris Pogiatzis, citing a written memorandum submitted to the Parliament, said, among other things, that by August 31, 2026, a total of 911 complaints had been submitted to the Authority, while the examination of 645, i.e. 71%, had been completed.
