The Supreme Constitutional Court on Monday reserved judgement on a request to refer the dismissal of a former district court judge to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.

The case concerns the dismissal of Doria Varoshiotou, formerly a Limassol district court judge. She is appealing the judicial council’s decision to not offer her a permanent position within the judiciary following the conclusion of a two-year probationary period.

In court on Monday, her attorney Achilleas Demetriades said the matter should be referred to the European Court in Luxembourg.

The court in Luxembourg ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied the same in all EU countries, and settles legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions.

Demetriades argued that the issue should be adjudicated in Luxembourg because in Cyprus no regulations exist regarding the termination of the services of a probationary judge.

There is no case law concerning this eventuality, he said.

Moreover, he posited, the Luxembourg court has jurisdiction as since 2004 – when the island joined the European Union – judges in Cyprus are also considered EU judges.

Ever since 2004, Demetriades said, national courts in Cyprus are considered “decentralised courts of the EU”.

According to the attorney, in Cyprus the continuation or discontinuation of a probationary judge’s tenure is done on an ad hoc basis, which is legally unsound.

Unless the matter is referred to Luxembourg, the discontinuation of Varoshiotou’s tenure will lack ratification.

The only remedy then, said the attorney, would be to refer the matter to the European Court of Human Rights, also known as the Strasbourg Court, on the grounds of unfair trial in Cyprus.

The lawyers representing the other side – the judicial council – acknowledge that discontinuing the tenure of a probationary judge is done ad hoc, but say that this is based on “longstanding practice”.

Varoshiotou was the only one of 11 probationary judges whose position was discontinued, with seven being offered permanent appointments and three being given further probation.

Last year Varoshiotou had ruled that army conscript Thanasis Nicolaou, who died in 2005, had been strangled to death – 19 years after his death had been ruled a suicide and following a long campaign to have that ruling overturned by his mother.

That ruling prompted a wave of appeals from former state pathologist Panicos Stavrianos.

While those appeals were unsuccessful, the Supreme Court found in February that Varoshiotou had made a “legal error” in not allowing Stavrianos to testify during the case.

Despite this, the Supreme Court also found that it would “not serve any purpose” to annul Varoshiotou’s decision “for reasons of public interest and justice”.