On Friday, the Nicosia District Court gave the “green light” to the admission of hearsay evidence in the case of 14-year-old Stylianos Konstantinou, rejecting the defense’s objection and paving the way for a crucial testimony before the court.

This development marks the continuation of the proceedings, with the minor’s kindergarten teacher expected to testify before the court next Tuesday.

The decision was read by the President of the Court, Pavlos Agapitos, in an extensive 18-page analysis, as part of the proceedings regarding the minor’s tragic death in 2019.

The defense’s objection concerned the admissibility as evidence of reports the deceased allegedly made to his teacher regarding alleged abuse he was experiencing.

At the previous hearing, the prosecution had requested that the relevant reports be admitted, arguing that the administration of justice requires that this hearsay evidence be taken into account.

In its decision, the Court notes that Cypriot law, following the 2004 reform through Amending Law 32(I)/2004, does not provide for the automatic exclusion of such testimony, but rather requires its evaluation based on the totality of the circumstances of each case.

As stated in the decision “hearsay evidence is not automatically excluded, but is subject to judicial assessment based on the overall fairness of the proceedings,” while it is emphasized that the assessment must be made “in concreto and not in abstracto.”

The Court notes, also that the absence of the possibility of cross-examination does not automatically entail the exclusion of the testimony, but constitutes one of the factors taken into account in the context of a fair trial as a whole, in accordance with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

At the same time, it points out that issues of compatibility with the right to a fair trial may arise only when hearsay evidence constitutes the sole or decisive piece of evidence, without adequate safeguards.

This approach, according to the Court, is directly linked to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, according to which the use of hearsay evidence is not examined in the abstract, but in the context of the overall fairness of the trial.

Furthermore, the Court states that in exercising its discretion, it is not bound by an automatic exclusion rule, but must take into account all the circumstances, including the possibility of cross-examination, the reliability of the source of the information, and the necessity of relying on that particular testimony.

“In this light,” Mr. Agapitos stated, “hearsay evidence is not an exception to the rules of evidence, but a normally admissible form of evidence, which is subject to enhanced judicial scrutiny regarding its weight and reliability.”

He added that “the assessment of the compatibility of hearsay evidence with Article 6 of the Convention is not made in the abstract, but in light of whether the lack of cross-examination is sufficiently offset by other guarantees of a fair trial,” noting that “in this context, the decisive question is not whether hearsay evidence was used, but whether its use led to proceedings that, taken as a whole, can be considered fair.”

In the concluding part of the decision, the Court reiterates and summarizes its basic position, emphasizing that “the modern jurisprudential approach does not treat hearsay evidence as an exception requiring a narrow interpretation, but as a form of evidence to be assessed within the overall context of a fair trial.”

As noted, “the court’s role is not limited to a formal ruling on admissibility, but extends to a substantive assessment of the weight and credibility of the evidence as a whole.”

At the same time, it is emphasized that “hearsay evidence cannot be viewed in isolation from the entire evidentiary process, but only as part of a unified evaluative process, in which the overall fairness of the trial remains paramount.”

In conclusion, the Court points out that the flexibility of the current framework does not constitute a relaxation of the guarantees of the defense, but rather a conscious choice in favor of a system of substantive justice, in which every piece of evidence is assessed in light of its reliability, necessity, and the overall fair balance of the trial.

The proceedings will resume on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., with the testimony of Stylianos kindergarten teacher Konstantina Papachristodoulou.

It is recalled that the case, which is ongoing before the Nicosia District Court, concerns an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of 14-year-old Stylianos Konstantinos, with the Court examining potential liability both within the family and on the part of state agencies.

The proceedings focus primarily on whether there were instances of abuse or neglect within the family, whether the mother was aware of such incidents and failed to report them, as well as whether the relevant Child Protection Services officials adequately assessed and handled the information before them.

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Source: CNA