{"id":13596,"date":"2024-05-29T20:00:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T17:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=13596"},"modified":"2024-05-29T20:00:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T17:00:44","slug":"supreme-court-to-rule-on-opposition-proceedings-over-auditor-general-s-dismissal-on-june-5-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=13596","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court to rule on opposition proceedings over auditor-general, \u2019s dismissal on June 5 (Update)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The Supreme Constitutional Court is set to announce its decision on June 5 on whether attorney-general George Savvides is constitutionally allowed to initiate dismissal proceedings<\/strong> against auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides.<\/p>\n

During Wednesday\u2019s hearing which began at 9:30am and lasted until midday, the panel of judges heard the arguments from both sides as part of the opposition proceedings put forth by Michaelides.<\/p>\n

They are a legal objection to Savvides\u2019 motion to have Michaelides dismissed citing inappropriate conduct.<\/p>\n

The auditor-general\u2019s defence team argued that only the president of the Republic can initiate proceedings to have Michaelides removed, as he is the authority which appoints independent officials.<\/p>\n

One of Michaelides\u2019 lawyers George Triantafyllides argued that President Nikos Christodoulides himself has praised the auditor-general and his work.<\/p>\n

As such, he questioned how the attorney-general could move in such a way which contradicts the president\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the president of the Republic states that he is satisfied with the auditor-general, how can the attorney-general have the right to file a dismissal application?\u201d Triantafyllides argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very contradictory and it is leading us into absurd situations<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Triantafyllides also argued that under the constitution, there are 28 independent officials who can be fired in the same way \u2013 which include both the auditor-general, attorney-general and judges from the Supreme Court and Supreme Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n

Accepting that the attorney-general has the locus standi to have them dismissed, effectively means 27 independent officials can be fired either by the attorney-general or the president but the attorney-general can only be dismissed by the president.<\/p>\n

This creates a significant constitutional aberration, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe position that the attorney-general is the primary defender of legality to protect the public interest should not be used as a panacea to grant him powers not provided for<\/strong> in the constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michaelides\u2019 legal team also includes Pambos Ioannides and Christos Clerides, the former head of the bar association.<\/p>\n

In his arguments, George Valiantis, a lawyer from the attorney-general\u2019s legal team, referenced articles 112 and 113 of the Constitution.<\/p>\n

He argued that the articles \u201cbestow the highest authority on the institution of the attorney-general, indicating the constitutional lawmakers\u2019 full trust in the office\u201d, Valiantis said<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Constitution itself elevates the institution and trusts it to act independently, and in no case does it require the consent or approval of the president of the Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valiantis asked the court to exclude Christodoulides\u2019 statements from proceedings, arguing they were selectively chosen by Michaelides\u2019 team and were used to make \u201can impression\u201d.<\/p>\n

Featuring in Wednesday\u2019s arguments was also the case of former deputy attorney-general Rikkos Erotokritou<\/strong>, who was dismissed following proceedings initiated by attorney-general at the time Costas Clerides.<\/p>\n

Valiantis said the case clearly highlights that the attorney-general does have the constitutional powers to have an independent official removed from their post.<\/p>\n

To this, Triantafyllides retorted that was a wholly different case, as the attorney-general was dealing with \u2018in-house\u2019 issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the president of the Republic has the right to file a dismissal application for any institution. A serious constitutional deviation will occur if the decision is made to dismiss the auditor-general following the attorney-general\u2019s application.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you grant this right to the attorney-general, the same right is automatically extended to the deputy attorney-general,\u201d Triantafyllides said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Constitution is structured to clearly delineate the responsibilities of each institution. We cannot vaguely and abstractly claim that the attorney-general can file a dismissal application in defence of public interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are attempting to do here is to give the attorney-general the right to submit an application to the council whenever he wishes\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad<\/strong>,\u201d Triantafyllides said.<\/p>\n

Previously, judge Nikolas Santis recused himself due to his son\u2019s employment at a law firm involved in the case.<\/p>\n

Additionally, two other council members raised conflict of interest concerns due to personal cases handled by two law firms involved in the trial. The advocates did not object to their exclusion from the council\u2019s composition.<\/p>\n

The next hearing will take place on June 5 at 9:30am.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Constitutional Court is set to announce its decision on June 5 on whether attorney-general George Savvides is constitutionally allowed to initiate dismissal proceedings against auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6557,4791,580,537,1031,2577,6432,881,6694,4879,932,7316,11631,27,676,3895,9046,899,2796,6242,5679,3903,591,6693,9597,193,10349,243,4593,10493,4843,503,4652,10778,8354,168,1906,1681,380,6305],"class_list":["post-13596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-application","tag-approval","tag-attorney-general","tag-bar-association","tag-christodoulides","tag-concerns","tag-conflict","tag-conflict-of-interest","tag-constitution","tag-constitutional-court","tag-court","tag-dismissal","tag-dismissal-proceedings","tag-employment","tag-george-savvides","tag-hearing","tag-house","tag-interest","tag-issues","tag-judge","tag-law","tag-law-firm","tag-lawyers","tag-legality","tag-move","tag-nikos-christodoulides","tag-objection","tag-odysseas-michaelides","tag-office","tag-opposition-proceedings","tag-president","tag-president-nikos-christodoulides","tag-president-of-the-republic","tag-republic","tag-supreme-constitutional-court","tag-supreme-court","tag-trial","tag-trust","tag-us","tag-who"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\nSupreme Court to rule on opposition proceedings over auditor-general, \u2019s dismissal on June 5 (Update)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dismissal proceedings. 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