A Larnaca businessman prophetically advised me in
2010: “Just remember, Englishman: in Cyprus there is no law, no police, no
courts, no justice. We’ve just been
lucky up to now.”
In 2013, it looks like Cyprus’s luck is running out.
Just before the 53rd anniversary of Cyprus’s “independence”,
President Anastasiades said that the state of Cyprus created in 1960
has run its course. “It is time to build
a new state model that will respond to the new era, that will respect and serve
the public, restore meritocracy, also define the responsibilities of politicians.”
Fine words, but what are to be the foundation stores of the
new Cyprus? A hard-hitting and
persuasive editorial in The Cyprus Mail (1st October 2013) went
straight to the heart of the problem: “We
cannot even boast that after 53 years, we built a state in which there is the
rule of law, let alone equality before the law.”
Two weeks ago, the British wife of one of Cyprus’s most
eminent criminal lawyers - a Greek-Cypriot trained in England - lent me a book, which I read cover to cover: Tom Bingham’s The Rule of Law (Penguin Group Publications, 2011), winner of The Orwell Book Prize of
2011.
Lord Bingham, a former senior law lord in Britain, is
superbly qualified to quantify sixteen principles underpinning a rule of law
and to construct a route map for its achievement. As a former Lord Chief Justice and Master of
the Rolls, he has both the knowledge and experience to assist the builders of a
new Cypriot state. This very special publication
should be distributed widely and read among the public and private enterprises,
institutions and educational establishments of Cyprus.
Bingham makes it clear that the rule of law is not an arid
legal doctrine, but the foundation of a fair and just society, a guarantee of responsible government, and a
significant contributor to economic growth.
Wishful thinking for Cyprus?
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