In a judgment on Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found in favour of a Cypriot judge who had complained he had been arbitrarily refused promotion to the post of district court president.

The case concerns Costas Constantinou, a senior district court judge. He had lodged his complaint with the ECtHR in October 2023.

Having reviewed the case, the European court ruled that the applicant’s right to a fair hearing – Article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights – had been violated.

Constantinou alleged lack of judicial review available to him in respect of a decision refusing to promote him to the post of district court president.

He complained that he had no access to a court to challenge the allegedly arbitrary decision of the transitional Supreme Council of Judicature (SCJ) and that the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) failed to act as an impartial tribunal, as the SCC judges who dismissed his complaint were, in their majority, the same judges who decided, as members of the transitional SCJ, not to promote him.

In its ruling, the ECtHR found that the applicant was in fact denied judicial review in the Cypriot courts, and awarded him €13,887 for legal costs and expenses, to be paid by the Cypriot state.

The ECtHR held that the finding of a violation constituted in itself sufficient just satisfaction for the non-pecuniary damage sustained by Constantinou.

Non-pecuniary damages are monetary awards for intangible, non-monetary losses in personal injury cases, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress.

Pecuniary damages are quantifiable, monetary losses resulting from an injury or incident, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property repair costs.

Constantinou had also sought €15,000 in non-pecuniary damage as well as €18,472 in pecuniary damage, representing the difference between his salary as district court judge and the salary that he would have received as district court president had he been promoted on July 1, 2023.

The ECtHR did not award him either pecuniary or non-pecuniary damages.

According to a press release issued by the law firm representing Constantinou, the ruling is significant as it constitutes the first ECtHR judgment concerning the court system in Cyprus following the judicial reforms.

In 2022 Cyprus enacted major judicial reforms establishing a new Supreme Constitutional Court and a Court of Appeal, both separate from the already existing Supreme Court. Those reforms also restructured the Supreme Council of Judicature, expanding its membership to include legal professionals as non-voting participants and granting it authority over matters concerning the careers of judges, such as appointments and promotions.

Initially set to begin in January 2023, the implementation of the reforms was postponed until July 2023.