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CYPRUS: INTERCEPTION BILL TO BE PRESENTED TO PLENARY

Published March 27, 2026, 14:14
CYPRUS: INTERCEPTION BILL TO BE PRESENTED TO PLENARY

The parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee discussed the amendment of Article 17 of the Constitution regarding the lifting of communication privacy, which also requires a constitutional revision. The bill is expected to be submitted to the Plenary Session shortly before the end of Parliament's work, on April 2nd, and requires 38 votes to be approved. AKEL MP Andreas Pasourtidis expressed reservations about the absence of judicial approval as a prerequisite for surveillance, emphasizing that each new text is worse than the previous one. He considers it problematic that in some cases the CYPRUS Intelligence Service (CYP) will be able to refer to a three-member committee for approval to continue surveillance, instead of seeking prior judicial review. Mr. Pasourtidis stressed that the protection of human rights should not be sacrificed to reach a common ground and that the role of the Attorney General has been abolished, with the process passing to the three-member committee.