Nicosia, Cyprus. The Supreme Court has permitted a person under investigation for alleged illegal access to information systems, interference with data and illegal interception to apply for a certiorari privileged writ challenging an order granting access to telecommunications data.
In a decision issued on Thursday and announced on Friday, the court found a prima facie issue as to whether the offences under investigation qualified as serious offences that could justify access to such data.
Telecommunications data order
The Nicosia District Court issued the telecommunications data investigation order in April. The suspect was arrested in June, remanded for four days and subsequently released.
He was later notified of the order and sought permission to file an application for certiorari.
Legal threshold
The defence lawyer argued that telecommunications data access orders may be issued only in cases involving serious offences punishable by at least five years in prison.
According to the lawyer, the offences attributed to his client did not meet that threshold.
Supreme Court ruling
The Supreme Court said it was not examining the substance of the case. It clarified that its decision was limited to finding a prima facie issue sufficient to allow the procedure to proceed.
