Nicosia, Cyprus. MPs said proposed changes would remove the attorney-general from decisions on authorities’ access to private communications, following a closed session of the House legal committee.
Closed session attendees
MPs spoke after Friday’s closed session of the House legal committee, which was attended by Justice Minister Costas Fitiris and police chief Themistos Arnaoutis.
Decision-making and notification process
Under the plans, decisions would be taken by the commander of the Cyprus intelligence service, who would then inform a three-member committee within 72 hours of a decision to monitor an individual’s private communications.
Composition of the three-member committee
According to committee chairman and Disy MP Nicos Tornaritis, the committee would be chaired by a high-ranking former judge who has served as the chief justice of a district court, of the supreme court, or of the constitutional court. Its other two members would be “persons of recognised prestige”.
Parliamentary support and vote threshold
Tornaritis said MPs would “provide all the guarantees and tools which the law enforcement agencies need to deal with organised crime” and expressed hope that 38 of Cyprus’ 56 sitting MPs would vote in favour of the plans. The plans require 38 votes rather than a simple majority because they entail an amendment to Article 17 of the Republic of Cyprus’ constitution.
Article 17 and the planned constitutional change
Article 17 states that “every person has the right to respect for, and to the secrecy of, his correspondence and other communication if such other communication is made through means not prohibited by law”. It adds that “there shall be no interference with the exercise of this right, except that in accordance with the law and only in cases of convicted and unconvicted prisoners and business correspondence and communication of bankrupts during the bankruptcy administration”.
The government’s planned changes would require invoking the “doctrine of necessity” to change Article 17. The “doctrine of necessity” arose from the effective collapse of the bicommunal Republic of Cyprus as constitutionally envisioned in 1963, with the ejection of Turkish Cypriots from their constitutionally mandated positions within the state, and allows the Greek Cypriot community to unilaterally change the constitution in parliament.
How do you view the proposed shift in oversight for decisions to monitor private communications?