Cyprus’ corruption convictions remain limited – European Commission
The European Commission on Tuesday urged Cyprus to move forward in strengthening the independence of the legal service, amid calls for convictions for high-level cases of corruption.
In its 2024 Rule of Law Report on Cyprus, it identified concerns over challenges in attracting “qualified candidates for judicial positions”, as well as the Audit Office’s limited access to relevant information.
“While there are some improvements in the staffing and performance of the authorities investigating corruption, few cases advanced including high-level corruption, and the number of convictions remained limited,” the report said.
It identified “serious challenges” that persist regarding the efficiency of justice, in particular for cases before second instance courts.
The disposition times at second instance courts were 1,736 days for civil proceedings and 2,310 days for administrative, which were by far the highest in the EU, the report said.
Nonetheless, the implementation of measures aiming to reduce the excessive length of proceedings continues at a fast pace, it stressed.
On the legal service, the report remarked there was “some progress” in strengthening its independence with draft legislation the government is currently preparing. The bills aim to separate the advisory and prosecutorial functions of the attorney-general (AG).
“Previously identified weaknesses regarding the independence of prosecution have not yet been addressed, which may undermine the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, the broader anti-corruption framework and business environment,” the report revealed.
There was also “some progress” identified on strengthening the independence and the accountability of the legal service. This relates to a possibility to review decisions by the AG or his deputy not to prosecute or to discontinue proceedings.
Though the AG announced a plan on establishing internal procedures over the matter, the report cast doubt over their effectiveness.
According to the plans identified in the report, claimants or victims would receive information about the decisions and their reasons limited to the extent necessary by considerations of public interest or the protection of third parties.
Those having a legitimate interest would be able to submit a request for review within a ‘reasonable time’. A similar procedure is envisaged for decisions to discontinue criminal proceedings.
“The strict hierarchical internal organisation of the Law Office raises questions as regards the effectiveness of the remedy. In addition, the conditions under which claimants and victims can ask for a review do not provide legal certainty.”
The report identified some steps were taken to accelerate the delayed monitoring of the implementation of the National Strategy Against Corruption, while it also remarked that some progress was made to increase the resources of the anti-corruption authority.
It also highlighted that although Cyprus has “the highest number of lawyers in proportion to their population in the EU, the latest calls for judicial appointments failed to attract satisfying numbers of qualified lawyers” to take on the posts of judges.
The ongoing legal proceedings between the AG and Audit Office did not go unnoticed in the report, which commented on a “trend” the Audit Office reported in facing challenges to gaining access to information.
The limited access to information affects the ability of the Audit Office to effectively perform audits on the finance of public institutions, the commission warned.
“By law, the Audit Office has unrestricted access to the information it deems relevant to audit public entities. However, the Audit Office reports that some public authorities under audit, including the police in some cases, do not provide relevant information following the legal advice of the AG.
“Consequently, the effectiveness and accuracy of the audits risk being undermined.”