President Christodoulides and the Council of Ministers have finally acknowledged the critical role of the Independent Authority Against Corruption in the national fight against graft. In a recent decision, they approved the hiring of permanent staff for the Authority, deemed a long-overdue step.
However, the final say on these hires will rest not with the Authority itself, but with the Public Service Commission (EDY), a body composed of individuals appointed by the President and political parties.
As a result, the so-called Independent Authority remains not entirely independent. The hiring of its personnel will follow the same lengthy, bureaucratic EDY procedures that often become entangled in legal disputes, delaying decisions for years.
Unable to choose who to hire
Under the bill recently approved by the Cabinet and submitted to Parliament, a Consultative Committee will be responsible for selecting qualified applicants. This committee will include the Commissioner for Transparency, Harris Pogiatzis, and the four members of the Authority. Their task is to evaluate candidates based on criteria such as academic qualifications and experience, and then draw up a ranked list of suitable candidates. However, the ultimate hiring decisions will still be made by EDY.
Back in December, during discussions in Parliament on the Authority’s internal regulations, both the Commissioner and members of the Authority had requested full autonomy to hire their own staff through independent procedures, including written exams and interviews. This proposal was firmly rejected. The Ministry of Justice insisted that all recruitment must be conducted through the Public Service Commission. Commissioner Pogiatzis has publicly stressed that, given the sensitivity and confidentiality of the Authority’s work, hiring should be handled internally. “We want to choose our own people, not have them assigned to us,” he stated.
A fight for autonomy
Although established by law on 4 March 2022 and formally launched on 8 July that year, the Authority remains severely understaffed. Over 500 complaints have been submitted to date, and the Authority is also responsible for enforcing lobbying regulations. According to Commissioner Pogiatzis, the Authority requires around 25 staff to function properly. As of now, it has fewer than 10, including just one permanent employee: the office messenger.
The Ministry of Justice’s bill will be reviewed by the House Legal Affairs Committee on 8 October, alongside a separate legislative proposal by DISY MP Dimitris Dimitriou. Dimitriou’s proposal seeks to amend the Law on the Establishment and Operation of the Independent Authority Against Corruption to legally define it as a public law body. This would allow the Authority to determine its own budget and personnel.
Dimitriou’s amendments would also allow the Authority to create its own fund, directly hire its staff, and issue internal regulations for its operations, with the Cabinet’s approval and parliamentary ratification. In his view, these changes are essential to safeguard the public interest, giving the Authority the necessary legal tools to function effectively.
External influence
Both the government bill and Dimitriou’s proposal preserve the Authority’s ability to contract external experts for investigations, a practice already in place. Investigations are currently carried out by contract-based Inspection officers with proven experience in evaluating sensitive data and personal information. Because the Authority handles cases across a broad spectrum, applicants from diverse professional fields including law, accounting, engineering, IT and medicine, can qualify.
Qualified candidates are added to a pool from which the Authority selects inspectors depending on the nature and complexity of each case. Remuneration is determined based on expertise, specialisation, and difficulty of the investigation. When a case involves current or former state officials, foreign experts are often chosen to ensure impartiality and avoid challenges to the findings.
In essence, while Cyprus’ Anti-Corruption Authority bears the label of independence, the continuing role of political appointees in key decisions, particularly staffing, raises serious questions about whether it can truly operate free of external influence.