‘When I saw Thanasis’ body, my life stopped’
– After 19 years, a court has ruled that Thanasis Nicolaou was murdered, not that he committed suicide.
district courts
Police crack down on arson incidents
Police in Cyprus made 17 arrests related to 11 vehicle or building arson incidents in March.
Govt given until 2026 to open juvenile detention centre
The government of Cyprus has been given a deadline until the beginning of 2026 to open a juvenile detention center, as mandated by the House legal affairs committee. The committee chairman, Nikos Tornaritis, expressed dissatisfaction with the current progress and announced that young offenders would remain in a separate area of the central prison until the end of 2025. Tornaritis also highlighted the need to consider relocating the central prison away from residential areas and to build modern facilities, noting the prison’s current overcapacity and its implications for human rights. Additionally, discussions have taken place regarding the construction of new District courts in Nicosia, with a positive agreement from the government to proceed immediately.
Lefka court to reopen on Monday
The courthouse in the village of Lefka is set to reopen on Monday after being closed for over five years due to renovations. It had been closed since 2018 because of safety concerns, with court proceedings temporarily moved to Morphou. Lefka, separated from Morphou as a distinct district in December 2016, traditionally has its own courthouse and police department, similar to the other five districts in the north. With this reopening, the north will have six district courts located in Famagusta, Kyrenia, Lefka, Morphou, Nicosia, and Trikomo. Concerns about the absence of a courthouse in Lefka were raised by residents in January, highlighting an increase in crimes. They emphasized the importance of trying crimes in their place of commission as a deterrent. Additionally, there were calls for the establishment of a Lefka police department, which had been transferred to Morphou in 1977 and not re-established in Lefka since its separation from Morphou.
E-justice system , ‘a debacle’, lawyers protest
Lawyers in Cyprus held a one-hour protest outside district courts on a Friday to express their dissatisfaction with the problems plaguing the e-justice system, which had failed on its first day of operation. The protest occurred because the e-justice system had been causing work paralysis for two weeks, affecting both the justice delivery system and law firms. Deputy chairman of the Bar Association, Nicolas Tsardellis, spoke about these issues outside the Nicosia district court.
The Deputy Minister of Research, Nicodemos Damianou, mentioned an extension to address the e-justice system issues, but there were doubts about resolving the problems promptly. As a temporary solution, there was a suggestion to revert to the previous i-justice system starting the following Monday. The Bar Association supported this idea, but Tsardellis expressed reservations about its feasibility.
Tsardellis criticized the government’s investment in the justice system, stating that the current approaches were superficial and ineffective. He also mentioned that the e-justice system had serious operational problems from its inception, which remained unresolved. He highlighted the outdated and inadequate facilities at the Nicosia court buildings as indicative of the broader issues within the justice system.
Tsardellis pointed out that the transition to electronic justice had effectively stopped since January 15, after having been in place until January 13. He called for immediate government action to address these issues. Additionally, he warned that if the problems were not resolved, lawyers would continue to take measures, noting that earlier in the week, there had already been a protest outside parliament.
IBM told to fix e-Justice after system collapse
The e-justice platform in Cyprus, which is meant to digitize the electronic submission of documents for courts and allow access by state agencies, collapsed shortly after its launch due to glitches. The government’s IT and digital services agency has warned IBM, the contractor responsible for the platform, to fix the issues within five working days or risk losing the contract. The glitches include functional problems, performance issues, and a failure of the payment system. Lawyers have staged protests and strikes in response to the system’s failure, arguing that it will further delay the already slow justice system. The Bar Association has called the situation unacceptable and has planned further demonstrations. Some users have reported difficulties finding their cases and have raised concerns about data security. Despite calls to revert to manual registration, the Deputy Minister of Innovation has stated that shutting down the system without exploring repair solutions would be irresponsible. The e-justice platform was intended to replace the previous i-Justice system and was planned to be implemented in three stages.