Official Visit to the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Cyprus

From 3 to 4 November, a delegation of Members of the Court of Justice paid an official visit to Cyprus. They were hosted by the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Cyprus.

The visit took place in the context of the constant and close relations that the Court of Justice of the EU maintains with national courts in the Member States.

The delegation of 15 members was led by Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice, and Thomas von Danwitz, Vice-President and included the Court’s Members from Cyprus, Constantinos Lycourgos, President of Chamber and Nicholas Emiliou, Advocate General.

On 3 November discussions were held between the three courts on wide variety of subjects including

• Equal treatment of men and women
• Data protection and data retention in the context of criminal justice
• Asylum procedure.

In the evening, President Lenaerts delivered a lecture entitled “The Rule of Law under strain: Safeguarding Democratic Principles against Evolving Threats” in which he addressed the question of how the EU can protect and promote the value of democracy. In doing so he examined the case-law of the Court of Justice, highlighting the Court’s role in defending fundamental democratic principles such as guaranteeing free and fair elections, building trust in democracy and engaging citizens in the political process, and ensuring long-term stability and justice.

On 4 November the delegation met with a number of public figures including Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, Annita Demetriou, President of the House of Representatives and George Savvides, Attorney General.