Nicosia, Cyprus. The House institutions committee on Thursday unanimously accepted President Nikos Christodoulides’ referral of a law regulating the employment of former state officials and employees in the private sector. The referral followed concerns that restrictions related to share acquisition may violate constitutional property rights.
Existing framework and oversight
The move comes against the backdrop of an existing legal framework requiring former ministers and senior officials to seek approval before taking up private-sector roles for a period of two years. Oversight is exercised by an independent special three-member committee aimed at preventing the misuse of privileged information or conflicts of interest.
Legal service concern over share ownership
According to the legal service, the reason for the referral concerned the acquisition of shares, which constitutes a property right under Article 23 of the constitution. Yianna Hadjihanna, chair of the independent special three-member committee overseeing post-public employment and representing the legal service at the committee, said the restriction unjustifiably limits the constitutional right to own property.
She said the only action under the circumstances was to remove from the scope of employment the holding of shares that falls under Article 23 of the constitution.
Amendment proposal and reporting requirement
Akel MP Andreas Pasiourtides proposed an amendment, which was accepted by both the Legal Service and the other members of the institutions committee. Under the amendment, former officials will be required to inform the independent three-member oversight committee when they acquire shares within a two-year period.
The committee will maintain a registry and will confidentially brief the House every six months, in line with the proposal submitted by Pasiourtides and approved by the committee.
Next steps
The bill is set to be put to a vote at an extraordinary plenary session of the House later on Thursday. At present, the law requires that former state officials, judges and civil servants must apply to the committee before beginning work with any private employer within two years of their departure.
What changes, if any, do you think the new reporting requirement on share acquisitions will bring to the oversight process?
