The Cyprus Bar Association on Saturday vowed to “vigorously defend the independence of the courts against any attempts to undermine them”.
Their statement came amid public upset over the sacking of the Auditor-General Odysseas Michaelides.
“We are monitoring the public debate taking place, and it is with regret that we notice that some, in an unacceptable manner, are attempting to question the honesty and integrity of the members of the Supreme Constitutional Court,” it said.
“Such positions… but also any actions to this end are dangerous for the rule of law and for the very functioning of democracy.
“We know firsthand the judicial system’s pathologies, and we are working hard to deal with them and have exercised, often in a strong way, our own criticism. Despite this, we express our full confidence in the members of the judiciary, who are persons of integrity, independence, and honesty,” the association said.
“Justice remains a stable pillar of the rule of law and democracy in our country. The Republic’s courts adjudicate the cases brought before them on the basis of laws and jurisprudence only,” it added.
Criticism of judicial decisions is “not only permissible but also legitimate in a democratic and liberal society” but, it said, that such criticism “must be in good faith and substantiated, and must not question the institutions themselves, especially when it comes to the country’s highest judiciary.”
Michaelides was removed from office by the Supreme Constitutional Court on Wednesday, with an eight-judge panel unanimously ruling that he had conducted himself inappropriately, and that he was thus unfit to carry out the office’s duties.
The court’s verdict was 209 pages long and scathing, with Michaelides having been found to have repeatedly sought to undermine legal opinions of Attorney-General George Savvides, often writing his own interpretations which contradicted those of the attorney-general.
Michaelides himself had said the decision “essentially abolishes the audit service and democracy”, adding that it “puts a corset, a gag, on the audit office.”
“It is a black dayfor Cyprus and a black day for our service,” he said.
