President orders suspension of moves against debtors

PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday suspended for six months the execution of arrest warrants for people who failed to pay their debts.

Using the authority bestowed on him by the Constitution, Papadopoulos signed a six-month suspension order for pending warrants against debtors.

The order concerns around 80,000 warrants, which remained pending after a June 15 law took away the court power of ordering the imprisonment of debtors.

It was intended to bring the island into line with European practices in relation with debtors’ human rights.

The European Court of Human Rights says no one should be jailed for failure to meet contractual agreements.

Financial and legal circles have warned that the move will seriously disrupt transactions, though the state and the legislature appeared unwilling to backtrack on the matter.

It has since emerged, however, that the law is not retroactive, meaning that the around 80,000 pending warrants would still have to be executed.

But Papadopoulos stepped in and settled the issue, at least for the next six months.
The suspension also affects 24 convicts who, it is understood, will now be released.
According to an official announcement, Attorney-general Petros Clerides agreed to the move.

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