AG files appeal with Supreme Court over passports resolution

Attorney-general Giorgos Savvides has filed an appeal at the supreme court against a resolution passed by parliament calling on him and his deputy Savvas Angelides to recuse themselves from the process of assessing the interim findings of an inquiry into the controversial citizenship by investment programme.

In the appeal, the AG requests cancellation of the resolution, arguing that parliament had no authority to issue such a resolution and was therefore in violation of the separation of powers.

The resolution was not binding.

A case management hearing has been scheduled for May 17.

In the April 22 resolution, parliament called on Savvides and Angelides to recuse themselves from the evaluation process because they had been members of the cabinet taking the decisions to grant citizenships.

The House also called on the supreme court, in its capacity as the custodian of the constitution, to step in to ensure the interim report is published should the attorney-general decline to do so.

The parliamentary resolution passed with 28 votes for, 18 against and eight abstentions.

The report has since been published.

The findings, though heavily redacted, list a litany of irregularities and outright unlawful practices in the granting of citizenships from 2007 to 2020.