AKEL meeting with Justice Minister – Focus on the reform of the justice system and the fight against corruption

Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL S.Stefanou after the meeting with the Minister of Justice and Public Order Stefi Drakou

27 August 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

“We thank the Minister. As she has said, we had a constructive and productive discussion on the reform of the justice system, and on issues that are a necessity for both the rule of law and the quality of the administration of justice.

The issue of the reform of the justice system has a history of some years, both in Parliament and beyond. Parliament is essentially the third arena of this discussion and for sure it is Parliament that will ultimately vote on any reform. There are two other parts of the debate that are very crucial, namely the executive and the judiciary, which are independent powers. The more we come to an understanding, the easier it will be to ultimately try to pass the reform. Indeed, through the debate that has taken place in Parliament there have been significant improvements from the original bills that the government had tabled, but there is still a long way to go.

We conveyed to the Minister AKEL’s intention to continue to act in the same constructive and creative manner in Parliament and in the competent Parliamentary Committee, by submitting specific proposals, thoughts and opinions and tabling specific amendments to the bills. The aim, provided that the necessary consensus is eventually found and the reform is passed, is to have a justice system that meets standards that serve society and the public interest first and foremost, so as to have a speedy, objective and transparent administration of justice.

We discussed the bills dealing with the issues concerning entanglement/interwoven interests and corruption, in the context of a very negative situation in Cyprus. Cyprus is in the international spotlight, so decisions need to be taken and actions need to be taken so that this situation can be dealt with decisively.

We are always ready to strengthen any legal tools to better address this very important problem that is afflicting Cyprus, bearing in mind, of course, and it is our conviction, that first of all what is imperative is that necessary political will is demanded to confront these issues. We have submitted specific views and proposals to the Minister too. We are ready for an intensive and creative debate in Parliament. When the time for parliamentary discussion comes – which will be soon – we will set out our positions in a concrete way.

Finally, we agreed that this contact with the Minister and the relevant Ministry will continue both inside and outside Parliament, where a great deal of work is done normally.”