Committee to examine legal service reform

A committee of experts has been formed to examine constitutional issues arising from proposed government reforms to the Legal Service and the Audit Office, the attorney-general’s said office on Monday.

During recent meetings between Attorney-General George Savvides, Deputy Attorney-General Savvas Angelides and Auditor-General Andreas Papaconstantinou with Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis, it was agreed that the constitutional aspects of the reforms should be assessed as a first step.

The committee of experts will include legal expert and professor of constitutional law Evangelos Venizelos, known for his extensive writings on the Cyprus problem, the Cypriot constitutional order, and the law of necessity; lawyer and former university professor Polys Polyviou; lawyer and university professor Achilleas Emilianides; and prosecutors Elena Papageorgiou and Yianna Hadjihanna.

Additionally, at the attorney-general’s request, former Supreme Court President Demetrios Hadjichambis and former Supreme Court judge Panayiotis Kallis have agreed to provide opinions on the constitutional aspects of the reforms.

The committee’s first meeting will take place in the presence of Hartsiotis, who will outline the philosophy behind the reforms.

All committee members, as well as the two former judges, have agreed to offer their services free of charge.