PRESIDENT of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Jean Paul Costa arrived on the island on Sunday for an official visit at the invitation of the Supreme Court President.
Costa said he was happy to be in Cyprus for two reasons.
“Firstly, to strengthen the traditional co-operation between the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court in Cyprus, but also because I will be received by higher political leaders including the President of the Republic and the President of the House of Representatives. It will also be very good to have some backing from your country to our Court.”
As he explained, the ECHR has 47 member states and “it is a very important international court.”
He also pointed out the huge number of applications the ECHR receives, “which means a huge workload for the Court and we need not only traditional support and cooperation but also some political understanding and support from the highest leaders of every country.”
Costa expressed hope the presence of the Court’s delegation will be useful for Cyprus, the Supreme Court and the authorities.
The new President of the Supreme Court, Petros Artemis, received the ECHR delegation at Larnaca Airport.
Costa is being accompanied by the Cypriot ECHR judge, George Nicolaou, and the ECHR Registrar.
Yesterday, Costa was received by President Demetris Christofias and met House President Marios Garoyian.
Christofias accepted an invitation to visit the headquarters of the Court in Strasbourg during his forthcoming visit for the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
After the meeting, Costa said that “the general climate of the meeting was very good.”
On his part, Garoyian explained that he and Costa had discussed ways of speeding up the hearings of the large number of cases pending before the ECHR.
He also expressed his appreciation for the important role the ECHR is playing concerning the protection of the fundamental and human freedoms of all Cypriots and every European who appeals to it.
Today, the ECHR President will have a meeting with the President and members of the Supreme Court.
In the afternoon, he is due deliver a speech for lawyers and judges, before leaving the island tomorrow.
