The rejection of Cyprus’ three nominees to sit on the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)’s judges election committee was “neither unprecedented nor rare”, committee member and Edek MP Kostis Efstathiou said.

He added that on the contrary, “it happens quite often”, and that in this case, it was likely because there were “divergences” between the candidates’ capabilities.

Cyprus’ list of judges, comprising Elena Efrem, Natasa Mavronicola, and Marika Papathoma Kalligerou, was rejected by the committee, which cited Article 21 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as its reason for rejecting them.

Article 21 states that the judges on the ECtHR “shall be of high moral character and must either possess the qualifications required for appointment to high judicial office or be jurisconsults of recognised competence.

Related Articles

Cyprus was required to nominate a new judge as the term of the current Cypriot ECtHR judge Georgios Serghides’ term is due to end next year.

Efstathiou’s words were echoed by House legal committee chairman and Disy MP Nicos Tornaritis in parliament the same day, who said lists “many times and from many countries” have been rejected by the judges election committee.

He added that that “not all three judges were rejected, but one of the three”, though the PACE’s wording was very careful on this matter, stating that “not all” of Cyprus’ nominees complied with the requirements set out by Article 21.

Given the relative normality of lists being rejected, Tornaritis said the matter is “not an issue which requires political exploitation or analyses based on science fiction”.

Akel MP Aristos Damianou was less nonplussed about the matter, describing it as a “negative development”, and adding that the matter “should have been checked” before Cyprus’ list was rejected.

He added that he plans to take the matter up with the House legal committee, though Diko MP Panicos Leonidou disagreed with this idea, saying it “does not concern parliament”.

Earlier in the day, lawyer Achilleas Emilianides said the reason the list was rejected was because one of the three candidates did not satisfy the election committee during the interviews. This meant all were rejected.

He added that this had never happened before for Cyprus and the fact that the list is being sent back “is certainly negative”.

Earlier, foreign ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis had insisted that the three judges all met the requirements as set out by the ECHR and added that the government was awaiting written notification on the results of the interviews, which will then be answered appropriately.

If necessary, he told the Cyprus News Agency, a revised proposal will be sent by the Republic of Cyprus for the continuation of the procedure.