Seven of the sixteen recommendations contained in the Report of the Fourth Evaluation Cycle of GRECO have been implemented according to the second compliance report of our country.
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In its report, GRECO concludes that Cyprus has satisfactorily implemented seven of the sixteen recommendations contained in the Fourth Evaluation Cycle Report. Of the remaining recommendations, six have been partially implemented and three have not been implemented.
Recommendations for Members
As far as Members are concerned, the move towards simplification / clarification of the incomes and allowances that Members receive when they leave office has been committed, but has not yet been completed even if the time of the Evaluation Report had already been mentioned. A draft Code of Conduct for Members has been prepared but is still being considered by Members. Many recommendations depend on the adoption of a future code of conduct, such as conflicts of interest, contacts with lobbyists, gift giving as well as special training. In addition, Members' asset declarations need to be more comprehensive and control of declarations needs to be strengthened. Progress on these issues seems to be increasingly pressing as serious allegations of abuse of third party influence have been made recently by some Members.
Judges
With regard to judges, a bill approved by the Council of Ministers proposes to expand the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council to include representatives of the various levels of the courts. A standard procedure for judicial appointments and promotions has now been established. A judicial code of ethics has been adopted. While it is a translation of the "Bangalore principles" and their interpretation, several amendments have been made to it. In particular, it has become enforceable for all judges with the possibility of disciplinary proceedings in the event of a breach. In addition, a recent amendment to the revised 2019 Judicial Practice Directive has been introduced requiring judges to exclude themselves if a family member or colleague or employer or employee or partner of the family member appears before them. This will help put more emphasis on the Code of Judicial Conduct for the prevention of conflicts of interest, in particular taking into account the recent cases of conflicts of interest that have been revealed. The School of Judges has been put into operation, and training seminars on integrity have already been scheduled and the initial training has been scheduled and will take place.
Prosecutors
As for the prosecutors, a new bill that provides for and guarantees the independence and autonomy of the Legal Service of the Republic has been submitted to the executive branch. On another issue, the policy of allocating serious and complex cases has been adequately reviewed and standardized.
GRECO notes that seven recommendations have been fully implemented but six recommendations remain partially implemented and three have not been implemented. Therefore, in accordance with the revised Rule 31, paragraph 9 of its Rules of Procedure, invites the Head of the Cyprus Delegation to submit additional information on the implementation of the pending recommendations i to viii and xiii by 31 October 2021 at the latest.
Finally, GRECO calls on the Cypriot authorities to authorize the publication of the report as soon as possible, to translate it into the national language and to publish this translation.
The announcement of the Legal Service
Regarding the publication on the official website of the Legal Service and on the official website of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) on 17.11.2020 of the Second Cyprus Compliance Report to GRECO, which concerns the Prevention of Corruption in the Members of Parliament, the Judiciary Authority and the Prosecution Authorities, the Legal Service points out the following:
This is the Second Compliance Report of Cyprus, in the context of the Fourth Assessment Round of GRECO. Cyprus managed to satisfactorily implement seven (7) of the sixteen (16) Recommendations and not to be judged as "globally unsatisfactory" (overall unsatisfactory compliance). This is largely due to the implementation of all four Recommendations on the Prevention of Corruption in the Judiciary. For this thematic group, all Recommendations have been fully met and there is no longer any pending issue.
With regard to the Prevention of Corruption in the Prosecution Authorities, the Recommendation concerning the autonomy of legal officers and prosecutors remains unimplemented. This Recommendation will be fully satisfied with the promotion and adoption of a relevant bill concerning the Independence of the Legal Service of the Republic which was prepared by the Legal Service and is pending in the Executive Power.
Regarding the Prevention of Corruption in the Members of Parliament, there are several pending issues, one of which is the elaboration of a Code of Conduct for Members, which covers issues of conflict of interest, contacts with lobbyists, gift giving and specialized training. Special mention in the Report states that progress on these issues seems to be increasingly pressing because there have recently been serious allegations of abuse of third party influence by some Members.
Famagusta.News