Lawyer Christos Clerides on Friday questioned the Council of Europe’s selection process for the island’s judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Clerides, who represents two candidates for the position, asked the council’s relevant committee to consider recommending the rejection of the candidate list submitted by the Cyprus government.

He said recent communication from the government describing the national selection process contains “significant inaccuracies, omissions and misleading statements”.

He highlighted a potential conflict of interest involving the foreign minister. In 2023, a permanent representative from the University of Cyprus (UCy) was included in the advisory body that selects candidates. Other universities now participate on a rotating basis.

Clerides said this change gives preferential treatment to UCy, where the minister worked for 16 years. He added that this change was not disclosed to the Council of Europe.

The letter also raised concerns about the exclusion of a suitably qualified Cyprus judge.

The candidate was reportedly abroad but indicated readiness to attend interviews but Clerides said the advisory body went ahead with interviews without responding to the judge.

Another member of the advisory body was later recused due to a conflict of interest, while one candidate received the option for an online interview.

Clerides further claimed that the advisory body misrepresented the timing of the candidate’s exclusion and that essential selection criteria were ignored.

He also said the official announcement did not include deep knowledge of Cypriot law or practical legal experience, despite these being listed in the public call for candidates.

Transparency issues were also mentioned.

Clerides said the composition of the advisory body was not published in advance, and the final candidate list was not made public nationally before submission to the Council of Europe.

He said that the process in Cyprus deviates from Council of Europe procedure.