On Monday, Giorgos Savvidis once again expressed his reservations regarding the constitutionality of the bills related to the reform of the Office of the Attorney General of the Republicduring the presentation of the Legal Service’s budget for 2027 before the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, noting that the gravity of the undertaking could lead to challenges regarding the constitutionality of the legislation.
Mr. Savvidis, who had recently expressed his concerns before the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs as well, initially limited himself to stating that “such issues require extremely careful and prudent handling.”
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Regarding the 2027 budget, which amounts to €44,784,514, compared to €31,062,047 in 2026, it includes the expenses of the Legal Service and the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints against the Police (AADIPA). Of the total €44,784,514 budgeted for 2027, €18,885,873 is allocated for staff payroll expenses, including hourly-wage employees, while €20,898,641 covers regular and development expenditures. Furthermore, the amount allocated to the Agency’s working capital fund is budgeted at €5 million.
Regarding the overall budget execution for 2026, it is estimated that it will reach 95% by the end of the year, compared to 91% in 2025. At the same time, as of October 1, 2026, 68% of the total budget had been implemented, while during the corresponding period in 2025, the implementation rate stood at 72%.
Referring to staffing needs, the Attorney General noted that since July 2020, when he assumed his duties, a total of 156 permanent positions in the Legal Service have been filled. Specifically, in 2026, 14 public prosecutor positions and seven MOKAS officer positions were filled, while the process of filling nine permanent positions for First-Class Attorneys of the Republic is currently underway.
“Having firsthand knowledge of the challenges we face due to the excessive increase in our workload,” he said, the President of the Republic and the Government have approved a significant number of additional positions for 2027. Specifically, as he noted, the recruitment of 33 new, permanent legal officers and 30 legal secretaries has been approved.
Mr. Savvidis also referred to the long-standing request for a pay raise for public prosecutors, noting that the Legal Service recently raised the issue again with the Ministry of Finance. As he said, the request is considered fair, given the heavy workload, the responsibilities public prosecutors assume in court, and the security risks they face due to the nature of the cases they handle.
“Our position is that this will not constitute an obstacle to the institutional changes that may take place as part of the reform, since these do not depend on either the executive branch or the Attorney General, and it may take time for them to be implemented,” he added.
However, he added that the Department of Public Administration and Personnel responded on October 19 that it would not be appropriate to separate the pay raise for public prosecutors from the otherprovisions concerning the reform of the Legal Service.
At the same time, it noted that an increase in the allowance for public prosecutors working on weekends and holidays had been approved, while measures were taken to enhance the safety and protection of personnel in the sector.
On the issue of housing for the Legal Service, Mr. Savvidis noted that in September, the Department of Public Works re-announced the tender for the construction and maintenance of the building, with an estimated cost of €68 million, plus VAT.
As he explained, in 2023 the preliminary budget for the project had been set at €45 million, plus VAT; however, the tender at that time was canceled by the executive branch.
Referring to corruption cases and the recovery of illicit proceeds, the Attorney General stated that the Corruption Cases Investigation Coordination Team, which was established in 2023 within the Legal Service with the participation of the Police, MOKAS, and other agencies, continues its work. Progress, as he noted, is documented in the European Commission’s 2026 Rule of Law Report.
At the same time, he noted that in 2025, approximately €30 million in illicit proceeds were frozen through the implementation of measures to recover them.
“It is also significant that, for the first time in a Cypriot case, a court order was issued for the forfeiture of illicit assets without a conviction in a naturalization case,” he noted.
Regarding the Cyprus Investment Program, Mr. Savvidis recalled that last March, the European Commission officially informed the Republic of Cyprus that it had terminated the infringement proceedings it had initiated regarding the granting of citizenship to foreign investors through the program.
As reported, the Legal Service handled the matter from the outset, and following the relevant recommendations of the European Commission, the the Nikolaou Investigative Committee was appointed. Based on the findings of this committee and the Kalogirou Committee, the Council of Ministers proceeded with the revocation of citizenship. The Attorney General also thanked the House of Representatives for the timely passage of the amendment to the relevant legislation, which, he said, was necessary to conclude the process.
On behalf of the Members of Parliament, the Committee Chair and DIKO Member of Parliament Christiana Erotokritou described the reform as one of the most significant pieces of legislation the House will be called upon to decide on, along with judicial reform, emphasizing the responsibility of the Members of Parliament. “This is not a simple bill. It is the most constitutionally risky reform we will be deciding on,” she said.
DISY MP Fotini Tsiridou raised the issue of the separation of powers, as well as the lack of oversight over the decisions of the Attorney General. As she explained, regarding the separation of the office of the Attorney General, if the bills proceed as currently drafted, they could be ruled unconstitutional. At the same time, he referred to the effort to find the best possible way to move forward with the relevant regulations without delays and within constitutional limits.
DISY MP Savia Orfanidou asked to be briefed on current practices in other countries regarding immunity, as well as the decision-making process regarding the suspension of criminal prosecutions.
AKEL MP Andreas Pasiourtides noted that, despite repeated discussions, the positions of the parties have now been established, while acknowledging the complexity of the issue. Referring to public prosecutors, he emphasized that there must be fair treatment so that they do not feel wronged. At the same time, he requested information on whether a record had been created documenting the suspensions of criminal prosecutions and the reasons justifying them, as well as on the nature and number of the relevant cases.
ELAM MP Linos Hatzigeorgiou stated that it would be preferable to examine the terms of office and immunity at different stages and, at a later stage, the separation of powers. Regarding the term of office, he raised the question of whether this could lead to corruption in the future, while regarding the separation of powers, he asked for clarification on whether the cost of the reform had been calculated.
The leader of the Alma movement, Odysseas Michaelides, raised the issue of the €50,000 included in the budget to cover press secretary services, asking for clarification on whether the services have already been contracted, from which budget line they will be funded, and what process was used for the selection.
Responding to questions about the lack of oversight and the separation of powers, Mr. Savvidis noted that the seriousness of the reform may lead the defendants to challenge the constitutionality of the new regulations.
“The severity of the separation of powers will inevitably lead the first, second, or third defendant to challenge the constitutionality of the legislation,” he said, also referring to recent trends at the European Court of Human Rights.
At the same time, he noted that he has never claimed infallibility and that the final decision rests with Parliament, while the Supreme Constitutional Court is the competent authority to rule on constitutionality.
“The role of the Attorney General—which is why he is independent and must remain independent—is to voice his reservations,” he said, adding that he had invited seven experts to weigh in on the matter, four of whom took a firm stance that the measure was unconstitutional.
Referring to the functioning of the judicial system and the backlogs, he noted that judicial reform has contributed to a significant reduction in delays in the adjudication of appeals, while the number of new cases filed has decreased noticeably.
He also mentioned that proposals are being considered to alleviate the backlog in the courts, including increasing the penalties that District Courts can impose so that more cases can be referred to them, as well as the creation of a single-judge Criminal Court with expanded criminal jurisdiction, so that judges can be freed up from the three-judge Criminal Courts and the adjudication of criminal cases can be expedited. Furthermore, regarding public prosecutors, he emphasized that they constitute “the backbone of criminal justice in the District Courts.”
Regarding the suspension of criminal prosecutions, the Attorney General noted that when he took over the Legal Service in 2020, there were no electronic records. As he explained, significant efforts have been made to develop electronic systems, and their completion and systematic updating will greatly facilitate the Service’s work.
He added that the files contain detailed records of the reasons for deciding to suspend criminal prosecution and that, in many cases, these reasons are also communicated to the court.
Regarding the possibility of corruption following the retirement of the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Savvidis stated that he does not believe this will pose a particular problem. Furthermore, regarding the cost of the separation, he noted that no relevant study has been conducted.
Responding to Mr. Michaelides regarding the budget allocation for the press secretary, Mr. Savvidis stated that the position was advertised and the selection was made through lawful procedures. As he said, the contract was signed yesterday, and the press secretary is expected to take up his duties next Monday.
He explained that the decision was made to better respond to inquiries from the media, as the Legal Service is a large organization that receives a large number of inquiries every day. He confirmed that there is a corresponding budget allocation.
Furthermore, in remarks made after the session, Mr. Michaelides stated that the Attorney General “reiterated his position on the separation.” What is noteworthy, as he noted, is that the Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Fotini Tsiridou, “departed from Averof Neophytou’s pre-election pledge and opposed the separation, arguing that it raises constitutional issues.”
“It is very interesting to us that constitutional scholars such as Evangelos Venizelos, Polyvios Polyviou, and Achilleas Emilianidis have explicitly argued in favor of the constitutionality of the relevant amendment. Those who wish to perpetuate this distorted situation—which is a cancer on the rule of law—cite two prosecutors from the Legal Service, who are under the authority of Giorgos Savvidis, to tell us that it should not proceed,” he noted.
Source: KYPE
