The unaudited status of the attorney-general is not included in the package of bills on the reform of the legal service, which is set to be discussed on September 10 at the House, Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis said on Wednesday.

He explained that this issue would be regulated by a separate bill in collaboration with the Supreme Court.

Speaking at the House institutions committee during a discussion on the European Commission’s report on the rule of law in Cyprus, Hartsiotis said the bill for the attorney-general had been drafted and sent for legislative examination, with the aim of tabling it at the House the soonest possible.

This issue, he said, was handled differently due to the involvement of the Supreme Court, as it is considered that it should be the institution monitoring the decisions of the public prosecutor.

Hartsiotis said that the non-prosecution and the suspension of a prosecution would be sent to the Supreme Court, however he warned that there were thousands of applications for the suspension of criminal prosecution and it would not be practical if they all ended up at the Supreme Court.

The questions arising, he added, were many. Nevertheless, he appeared optimistic that the bill would soon be promoted to the House along with the rest of the bills in the framework of the legal service’s reform.

Replying to questions by Akel MP Andreas Pashiourtides regarding the compatibility of the amendments with the Constitution, the justice minister said the Constitution was “very original” and thus there were differing views.

Despite the doubts, the government is pressing forward with the reforms in line with European recommendations, he added.

“It is a road of no return,” the minister said.

Regarding the European Commission’s report on the rule of law in Cyprus, chairman of the institutions committee Demetris Demetriou said the debate would last for more than one session.

Hartsiotis said the effort to modernise the rule of law and the serving of justice was seen in a positive light, adding that the Commission’s report did not include any new recommendations this year.

The report, he added, referred to progress made and issues still pending from before.

It recommended the further reform of the legal service, which Hartsiotis reminded was in the pipeline, and other issues for which legislation had already been drafted in the general framework of reforms.

Hartsiotis said the commission also referred to the challenges still open, such as the low level of digitalisation and the absence of a comprehensive electronic system for courts, the need to improve procedures and shorten trial times, as well as establishing effective control.

The minister said the iJustice platform was in the process of being upgraded to cover the needs of ejustice as well, facilitating court work.

The issue of the unaudited attorney-general is another issue included in the report.

Regarding the appointment of the attorney-general, Hartsiotis said that, according to the Constitution, it was the prerogative of the president of the Republic, however the commission said the government was obliged to examine this issue as well.

Foreign ministry permanent secretary Theodora Constantinidou said the fact that the commission did not make any new recommendations indicated that Cyprus was on the right track.

Also present were representatives from the interior ministry, the deputy ministry for European issues, the commissioner for personal data, the audit office, the authority against corruption and the Cyprus bar association.

For many of the departments, the commission reported improvements.

The audit service expressed reservations regarding the functionality of the new model proposed for the service, as it was different from the effective one implemented in Europe.

Makis Constantinides on behalf of the authority against corruption said the new bill was the best they had seen over the past few months, adding that there had been progress, as complaints were being investigated faster.

The authority, he said, had received 530 complaints, of which 35 were deemed unsubstantiated, while the rest were investigated individually. Constantinides said announcements would be made soon and, if necessary, names would be publicised, including those of political people.

Chairman of the bar association Michalis Vorkas said the commission reported that the confidence of the public in justice was not as high as it should be and wondered how the people could trust the justice system if a court case took anything up to 17 years to close.

Speaking after the meeting, independent MP Alexandra Attalides said the committee was satisfied with the government’s intention to separate the authorities of the attorney-general, describing this as “absolutely necessary”.