‘Cyprus Report on the Rule of Law’ (FIDE XXX Congress Proceedings, 2023)

The protection of the Rule of Law is considered to be a ‘cardinal principle’ of the Cyprus Constitution. The concept of the Rule of Law has also been pivotal to the introduction of the doctrine of necessity in the Ibrahim judgment of the Supreme Court of Cyprus. The withdrawal of Turkish-Cypriot judges and the resignation of foreign judges compromised seriously the possibility of citizens enjoying access to courts, paralysed any effective judicial protection and compromised the protection of fundamental rights which are inherent to the concept of the Rule of Law. The doctrine of necessity, which is a cornerstone of the Cypriot legal system, allows to depart from provisions of the Constitution under special circumstances when it is impossible to comply with them because of the withdrawal of the Turkish-Cypriot community. The principles of the Rule of Law are manifested as well in different provisions of the Constitution such as Articles 24 (3) and 12 (1) which prohibit retroactivity in relation to tax law and criminal law respectively or Articles 3 and 104 which render the publication of all laws a requirement for their validity. Furthermore, a number of principles of administrative law are consubstantial to the Rule of Law. In that sense, one should refer to the principle of legality, which governs the relation between the legislative power and the public administration. According to it, acts of public administration are always dependent on the law and must be respectful of the law. And any interference of public administration with fundamental rights or liberties is possible only if a law provides such possibility. Public administration and the State are under the control of the judiciary and the principles which govern the action of public administration constitute a manifestation of constitutional principles fundamental for the Rule of Law.