The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an appeal by a former priest who sought permission to challenge, through a writ of certiorari, the Cyprus Bar Association's decision to remove him from the registered list of lawyers.
The ruling did not concern the merits of his removal from the register itself, but whether the Bar Association's decision could be challenged by way of a writ of certiorari.
'Right to fair hearing'
Following the Cyprus Bar Association Council's decision to strike him off the register, with immediate effect upon notification of the decision in March 2026, the applicant applied to the Supreme Court for leave to file a certiorari application.
He argued that the Cyprus Bar Association had acted outside its legal powers in removing him from the register and that the procedure followed breached the principles of natural justice and his right to a fair hearing.
However, the Supreme Court held that the central issue before it was not whether the Bar Association's decision was disciplinary or quasi-judicial in nature, but whether the court had jurisdiction to review it through certiorari proceedings.
"In the present case, the issue was not whether the disputed decision of the Cyprus Bar Association constituted a quasi-judicial act, but whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to quash it by way of a writ of certiorari," the judgment stated.
'Sufficiently clear'
The court found that, following the introduction of Article 32A to the Advocates Law, decisions of the Cyprus Bar Association Council may be challenged before a District Court within 12 months of the date they are issued.
"We consider that the above legislative provision is sufficiently clear to leave no room for misinterpretation of the legislature's intention to confer jurisdiction on the District Court to review decisions of the Cyprus Bar Association Council," the judgment said.
The Supreme Court also rejected the argument that Article 32A's reference to an "action or application before a court" permitted challenges by way of certiorari.
Discussing Article 32
"Nothing in the text of Article 32A of Cap. 2 indicates that the legislature intended to allow decisions of the Cyprus Bar Association Council to be challenged through a writ of certiorari," the court added.
Concluding its judgment, the Supreme Court described the first-instance ruling as "entirely correct and fully reasoned" and dismissed the appeal.
The case follows earlier legal proceedings concerning the former priest's admission to the Register of Advocates despite a previous conviction in a drugs case. A subsequent disciplinary process by the Cyprus Bar Association ultimately resulted in his removal from the register.
Source: CNA
