Tomorrow, Monday 15 September 2025, the Committee for the Election of Judges of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will meet and hold interviews/hearings with the three Cypriot candidates proposed by the Republic of Cyprus for a judgeship at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), following a process that has prompted many reactions and raised questions about its objectivity and transparency.
This is the second attempt by the Republic of Cyprus to put forward candidates – the first ended in a fiasco, after the list of three female Cypriot candidates for the ECHR was rejected by PACE, following a recommendation by the relevant PACE Selection Committee.
According to information obtained by Politis, complaints from interested parties and candidates about the current process have been sent to the President and all members of the Council of Europe’s Selection Committee, as well as to more than 100 European non‑governmental organisations – many of which are demanding explanations. Thus, the Selection Committee of the Council of Europe is expected to convene, either before or after the hearings of the three candidates, to assess the legality of the entire procedure.
Lessons not learned
Last September (2024), the website of the Council of Europe’s Selection Committee published a list which included candidates who did not fulfil the qualifications required for election as judges of the ECHR. After interviewing the candidates, PACE’s relevant parliamentary committee recommended that the Assembly reject the list submitted by the Cypriot Government, on grounds that one of the three nominees did not meet the necessary criteria. The government was asked to submit a new list of candidates. That nomination had been submitted by President Nikos Christodoulides, following the recommendation of a special eight‑member committee appointed by his Cabinet. Now, a year later, after having learnt from that experience, there appear to be similar problems again.
Konstantinos Kombos' role
On 21 November 2023, the Cabinet approved a new proposal prepared by the then newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Konstantinos Kombos, altering the previous framework (dating from 2014/2015) for the process of selecting a Cypriot judge for the ECHR. Under the new proposal, among other things, the Minister of Foreign Affairs would be empowered to take the required steps to apply the relevant procedures and principles for selecting the Republic’s candidates for the ECHR judgeship. Politis Normally, “procedures, arrangements, and principles” should include evaluation criteria, the composition of the Selection Body, etc.
However, key parts of Kombos’s proposal — particularly those regulating the process — have not been made public. Questions arise about whether the principle of transparency is being breached. Specifically, since the Foreign Minister was designated by the Cabinet to lead the process he himself proposed, create the rules, chair the Selection Body, communicate with candidates, present the process to Strasbourg, and organise the interviews. In effect, he is both the appointer and chair of the committee that applies the rules he helped to formulate, instead of the process being overseen by a truly independent body.
Ambiguities and concerns
Additional concerns include ambiguity in the public announcement by the Foreign Ministry of the vacant ECHR judgeship: while it refers to the Cabinet decision of 21 November 2023 and states that a Selection Body is to identify up to five candidates, from which three will be chosen by the President, it does not disclose the membership of the Selection Body.
Alleged Exclusions
In late August 2025 (26 August), two individuals interested in the judgeship filed complaints with the Council of Europe alleging that the evaluation process of candidates is flawed. One of them, who is abroad caring for a close family member with serious health issues, claimed that despite informing the Selection Body (in writing) that he was willing to return to Cyprus for an interview, he was not invited. His requests for clarifications or formal responses to his objections were not answered. Earlier, in spring, an academic from a private university had withdrawn from the Selection Body due to a conflict of professional interest with at least one of the applicants and was not replaced.
Thus, the person believes he was excluded from the process, since he was neither informed that his requests had been rejected nor offered an alternative such as an online (remote) interview. Another candidate abroad, however, was given a remote‑interview option.
Executive Overreach?
On 20 March 2025, the candidates were informed of the membership of the Selection Body, which comprises:
-
Minister of Foreign Affairs (chair)
-
Attorney‑General of the Republic
-
President of the Supreme Constitutional Court
-
Minister of Justice and Public Order
-
Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights
-
President of the Cyprus Bar Association
-
Representative of the University of Cyprus (Faculty of Law)
-
Representative of a Private University (Law Faculty)
European guidelines require that selection bodies be of a balanced composition, whose members collectively possess sufficient technical expertise and enjoy respect and trust. They should also come from diverse backgrounds, hold similar professional standing, and be free from unfair influence, even if they may obtain relevant information from external sources.
In Cyprus’s case, two serving ministers (including Foreign Affairs and Justice), along with the state legal adviser, and in the final stage the President of the Republic (who appoints and can dismiss those ministers), are all involved.
Additional criticism
The Foreign Minister, Konstantinos Kombos, is criticised for favouring his former employer, the University of Cyprus — he was a founding member of its Law School — by proposing permanent privileged representation of that institution in the Selection Body. Other law faculties are represented only on a rotating basis.
Several well‑known legal figures have expressed concern via social media:
-
Simos A. Angelidis: “Unfortunately, each day in Cyprus we witness a new negative record. A process that must now be very carefully examined ... Cyprus must send to the ECHR the best among those who satisfy the criteria.”
-
Christoforos Christofi: “Complaints of lack of transparency and irregularities — process of selecting candidates for ECHR judgeship. Sad and worrying that issues are seen in the selection process. It should be remembered that last September the same issue arose. The process was cancelled and redone in 2025, yet again there are allegations by Christos Kliridis of substantive irregularities.”
-
Artemis Artemiou: Criticised the exclusion of a candidate because he was accompanying his severely ill child abroad, stating that the exclusion goes beyond that person’s right — it touches the values of how the state treats human dignity and family obligation.
What the judgeship entails
By way of background, each member state of the Council of Europe has a national judge in the ECHR; they must be citizens of that state, but act independently and impartially.
Criticism among some is that in Cyprus, some high‑level figures do not look favourably on judges who are impartial rather than aligned with state interests. They would prefer “convenient appointments” — people who are seen as more likely to favour the country in their rulings.