Court rules police appointment law not fair

The Supreme Court has unanimously thrown out a law on police promotions, referred by President Nikos Christodoulides, deeming it unconstitutional, as it violates the principle of equality.

The law was passed by the House on May 11, 2024.

The president subsequently referred it to the Supreme Court, which ruled it was unconstitutional on Wednesday.

The law amended legislation on the police force, allowing the chief of police to appoint any member of the force as a specialised officer, after the approval of the justice minister.

More specifically, any police officer who has completed ten years of service as a rescuer or winch operator and has completed a minimum of 800 flight hours in police aircraft, is promoted to the next rank.

Any police officer completing 18 years of service in the same position and at least 1,000 flight hours is promoted to sergeant.

Furthermore, an article is added stipulating that the promotion of a specialised member of the police force to the next rank can be made by the chief of police, unless the officer is deemed unsuitable for the post.

The terms and procedure of promotion are set out in regulations issued by the cabinet.

The Supreme Constitutional Court said the law violates the principle of equality and thus is unconstitutional.

The ruling has been forwarded to the president and the parliament.