The House legal committee on Wednesday discussed a bill which would allow parliament to force ministers, deputy ministers and other officials to appear before house committees.
However, a legal service representative who was present at the session warned that the bill may be unconstitutional.
“Our position is that the matter is eminently legal and eminently constitutional, and the scope [of the bill] is constitutionally dubious,” she said.
“Parliament is trying to place itself in a position of power over the two other branches of government in a governmental system which does not allow it. We have not identified a constitutional basis on which this proposed law can legally be constitutional.”
She referred to Article 79 of the Constitution, which states that ministers “may” follow the proceedings of parliament or any parliamentary committee.
In response, committee chairman and Disy MP Nicos Tornaritis said it is the MPs’ will that there be legislative regulation on the matter and said the bill should be “examined with all sides involved” and that the parts of the bill which may fall foul of the constitution should be investigated.
“The political message must be there and at some point, the proposal must be brought to a plenary session of the parliament,” he added.
Akel MP Irene Charalambides said the bill “sends a strong political message in the direction of transparency and accountability”, and added that any refusal to submit evidence and “the refusal of ministers to cooperate with parliament” is “both a constitutional and a political issue”.
“It cannot be left to the discretion of ministers whether or not they will appear before parliament and whether or not they will submit information which has been requested,” she added.
She said the committee has “received three opinions from reputable jurists, one of whom is in favour of the bill, one who is balanced, and a third who is against”, and added that the “final judge of the bill’s constitutionality is the Supreme Constitutional Court”.
Speaking after the committee meeting, she said that “even though there has been good cooperation with the current government to date, we cannot be complacent.
“The bill was submitted in 2022 after the extreme situations we experienced with ministers in Nicos Anastasiades’ government,” she said. “Their refusal to submit evidence to parliament and the way they handled scandals damaged this place internationally and rang a danger bell for democracy.”
