The Justice Ministry has expressed readiness to amend the law governing public demonstrations, following the Organization for Security and Co-operation’s legal assessment and a new proposal submitted to parliament. The issue was discussed on Monday at the House Legal Affairs Committee, where broad convergence emerged between the Ministry and the bill tabled by AKEL MP Irene Charalambides.
According to the Ministry’s representative, the OSCE’s recommendations have been studied in full and incorporated into a revised draft prepared with the Legal Service and policing experts. The Ministry said its text aligns closely with Charalambides’ proposal, with only a few remaining differences that it considers secondary.
AKEL reiterated its position that the existing law places disproportionate restrictions on the right to protest, while the Ministry maintains that the legislation sets safeguards rather than prohibitions. Both sides, however, appear willing to negotiate a common framework. Committee chair Nikos Tornaritis said the Legal Affairs Committee will not wait for additional drafts and encouraged immediate coordination between all stakeholders to finalise a single text. He ruled out supporting AKEL’s separate proposal to abolish the law altogether.
Charalambides welcomed the positive climate and confirmed that the key points of disagreement have already been resolved in an informal meeting held after the committee session. She said the aim is to bring the agreed text to the plenary early in the new year. The Ministry, the Legal Service and the Law Commissioner all noted that the level of overlap between the two texts exceeds 70 per cent, making a unified approach achievable. Academic experts also confirmed that most OSCE recommendations have been adequately addressed.