For the first time in the history of the Republic of Cyprus, two independent institutions are being dragged to court to resolve institutional differences, while the Constitutional Court will be called upon for the second time to decide on inappropriate behavior.
In a petition filed yesterday to the Supreme Constitutional Court, Attorney General George Savvides seeks the dismissal of Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides for inappropriate conduct. The request will be examined by the Constitutional Council, convened based on a regulatory provision from 2021.
A legal battle will ensue, with the cream of the legal profession enlisted for constitutional matters.
Representing the Auditor General are lawyers George Triantafyllidis, Christos Clirides, and Panos Ioannides, while representing the Attorney General are the law firms Kalli and Kalli and Loukis Papafilippou. The request for the dismissal of the Auditor General for some was expected due to the ongoing war of attrition between the two sides, starting from the naturalization cases.
The Attorney General’s request was registered by lawyers Dinos Kalli of Kalli & Kalli Law Firm and George Valiantis of L. Papafilippou & Co. Law Firm.
Information suggests that the request was accompanied by an extensive dossier containing all the evidence supporting the request for Michaelides’s dismissal.
Among other things, it includes detailed letters, statements, positions, postings, and announcements by the Auditor General or the spokesperson of the Audit Office, regarding issues involving both the Auditor General and the Assistant Attorney General, culminating in Michaelides’s allegations to the Anti-Corruption Authority against Savvas Angelides, alleging a conflict of interest.
Indeed, regarding the allegations of corruption, there is a special chapter, with the Auditor General’s statements to the media on all the cases referred to the Independent Authority, aiming to demonstrate the targeting of Legal Service heads.
The request, along with all accompanying material, was submitted to the Auditor General early yesterday afternoon by a private sponsor.
Michaelides, as we are informed, has begun studying the documents accompanying the request and will determine his position with his legal advisors. It should be noted that it has always been the position of the Auditor General that his overall conduct does not entail anything alarming, but everything will be judged by the Council, before which the case will be brought for a hearing.
The case of Rikkos Erotocritou is unique
Case law on requests for dismissal due to inappropriate behavior is not extensive, and the only case that reached the Supreme Court concerned former Deputy Attorney General Rikkos Erotocritou, who was criminally convicted. Moreover, the Supreme Court, in its decision at the time on the request of the then Attorney General Kostas Clirides for Erotocritou’s dismissal, noted the following:
The Constitution does not define, nor does any other Law, in any way, what constitutes inappropriate behavior for the dismissal of Judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, and the Deputy Attorney General.
It should be noted that the Constitution has similarly shielded other state officials who are classified at this level of constitutional protection. Specifically, Article 115.3 provides that the Auditor General and the Deputy Auditor General “are permanent public servants of the Republic and are not dismissed from office unless under conditions and in the manner that the Judges of the Supreme Court are dismissed.”
Similar provisions cover members of the Public Service Commission under Article 124.5 of the Constitution. On the contrary, the General Accountant and the Deputy General Accountant are subject to the disciplinary control of the Public Service Commission, including their dismissal, under Article 126.4.
Legal circles emphasized to Phileleftheros that if the request reaches the hearing stage, then the Auditor General’s side is determined to bring up old cases handled by the Legal Service, such as the naturalization cases, the black van case, the Katsounotos case, etc., where witnesses will be called to testify.
It should be noted that the Auditor General has 21 days to file an objection to the Attorney General’s request for dismissal due to inappropriate behavior.
By filing an objection, it means that he does not consent to the dismissal and will testify to prove that he did not exhibit such behavior justifying such action.
