Compliance by parliament with a police request for confidential documents relating to the island’s citizenship by investment programme was unconstitutional, three legal experts retained by the legislature have said.
Parliament sought their legal opinion after police requested certain confidential files relating to the citizenship by investment programme as part of an investigation to identify the source of a leak to Al Jazeera.
“Compliance with the document presentation order submitted to the House of Representatives without its consent and without permission from the supreme court to carry out the particular investigative actions, is not constitutionally valid and therefore there is a reasonable cause for non-compliance,” the expert opinion said.
Last Tuesday, parliament refused to cooperate when police, acting on the orders of the attorney-general, asked for certain files to assist their investigation into who leaked confidential documents on the island’s citizenship by investment programme, which Al Jazeera recently made public.
Following the broadcaster’s reports that Cyprus has granted passports to shady individuals, it had been suggested that the documents, which contained personal data, had been leaked from parliament.
The legal opinion said the documents had been sought from the director of parliament in his professional capacity and were not linked with his personal actions.
The director held those documents on behalf of parliament and the notice should have been addressed to the House president, the experts said.
In addition, the files sought by police were kept by the House as part of its work and that was covered by parliamentary immunity, they said.
The police order includes original files and documents kept in parliament, original correspondence and annexes sent by the interior ministry, and original receipts of delivery. The authorities also want any other paperwork relating to the documents’ processing by parliament.
“If you fail to deliver the documents in question without reasonable cause, you are committing an offence punishable with imprisonment that does not exceed three years or a fine of €2,562 or both,” the order said.
It said police are investigating criminal offences including abuse of power, violation of confidentiality and disclosure of state secrets, and bribery.
