Cyprus is among the ten countries that have fully implemented the recommendations by the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe concerning judges. However, the nation still lags behind in efforts for MPs and prosecutors. The findings were detailed in the GRECO annual report for 2023 presented in Brussels.
Judicial Integrity and Corruption Prevention
In its fourth evaluation round, GRECO identified four key recommendations to prevent corruption in respect of judges:
- The integrity requirement for appointment as a judge should be guided by precise and objective criteria, which are to be checked before appointment or promotion. These criteria should be made available to the public.
- The composition of the Supreme Council of Judicature should undergo a reflection process considering its representation within the judiciary. This is to prevent potential or perceived conflicts of interest within the Council.
- A code of ethics/conduct should be elaborated with broad involvement from various members of the judiciary. This code should develop standards aimed at particular functions of judges, offering guidance on conflicts of interest, gifts, side activities, recusal, third-party contacts, and handling confidential information.
- Dedicated training in judicial ethics, conflicts of interest, and corruption prevention should be introduced as part of the induction training for newly recruited judges. This training should also be provided at regular intervals as in-service training, based on existing provisions and practices as well as yet-to-be-established ethical guidelines and European standards.
According to GRECO’s 2023 report, Cyprus has fully implemented 75 per cent of recommendations regarding prosecutors but only 25 per cent of recommendations regarding MPs. For MPs, the recommendations include preventative measures over conflicts of interest and public transparency, including for gifts, remuneration, and benefits.
Overall, Cyprus has fully implemented 56.3 per cent of GRECO’s recommendations across all three categories of officials—judges, MPs, and prosecutors. The country has partly implemented 37.5 per cent and has not implemented 6.3 per cent of the recommendations.
Across the EU, as of 31 December 2023, the 47 member states evaluated had fully implemented 54.4 per cent of the recommendations concerning parliamentarians, judges, and prosecutors. They had partly implemented 30.7 per cent and not implemented 14.9 per cent of the recommendations.
Eight countries were subject to GRECO’s fourth evaluation round non-compliance procedure for their low level of implementation: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portugal, and Turkey. Finland and Norway were the only two countries to have fully implemented all of GRECO’s recommendations.
When it came to recommendations on judges, as of 31 December 2023, the 47 member states had fully implemented 56.9 per cent, partly implemented 29.6 per cent, and not implemented 13.5 per cent. Ten countries had fully implemented all recommendations regarding judges: Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Serbia, Sweden, and the USA.
For prosecutors, as of the end of 2023, the 47 member states had fully implemented 64.8 per cent of the recommendations, partly implemented 25.1 per cent, and not implemented 10.1 per cent. Cyprus fully implemented 75 per cent of these recommendations but did not implement at all 25 per cent.
Regarding MPs, at the end of 2023, the 47 member states had fully implemented 43.2 per cent of the recommendations concerning MPs, partly implemented 36.5 per cent, and not implemented 20.3 per cent. Cyprus fully implemented 25 per cent and partly implemented 75 per cent.
