Find information per region
Nicosia District Court (Eparchiakó Dikastírio Lefkosías)
Charalampos Mouskou St.
1405 Nicosia
Cyprus
Limassol District Court (Eparchiakó Dikastírio Lemesoú)
8 Lordou Vyrona Ave.,
3726 Limassol
PO Box 54619
Cyprus
Larnaca District Court (Eparchiakó Dikastírio Lárnakas)
Artemidos Ave.
6301 Larnaca
PO Box 40107
Cyprus
Paphos District Court (Eparchiakó Dikastírio Páfou)
Corner of Neophytou St. & Nikolaidi St.
8100 Paphos
PO Box 60007
Cyprus
Famagusta District Court (Eparchiakó Dikastírio Ammochóstou)
2 Sotiras St.
5286 Paralimni
Cyprus
Kyrenia District Court (Eparchiakó Dikastírio Kerýneias)
Charalampos Mouskou St.
1405 Nicosia
Cyprus
The Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights (Epítropos Dioikíseos kai Anthropínon Dikaiomáton, also known as the ‘Ombudsman’) is an independent officer of state who has been operating officially since 1991. The Commissioner is the institution primarily responsible for the extrajudicial control of the administration and the protection of human rights.
The Commissioner aims primarily to ensure legality, promote good governance, protect the rights of individuals, combat maladministration and protect the rights of citizens and human rights in general.
The Commissioner will, normally, start an investigation following submission of a complaint by a citizen who is directly and personally affected by the action complained against. However, the Commissioner may also start an investigation by order of the Council of Ministers or on his or her own initiative on matters of general interest.
The Commissioner’s suggestions or recommendations are not binding. But if the parties concerned do not comply with them a question of principle arises. This position has been strengthened by the recent amendment to the relevant Law, which enables the Commissioner to consult with the authority concerned, in an attempt to find a way for the authority to adopt the Commissioner’s positions and comply with them at a practical level.
The powers of the Commissioner for Administration are very broad, given that, in addition to carrying out the above functions, he or she also has the following roles:
An anti-discrimination body: In this capacity, the Commissioner checks, upon a complaint submitted by an individual or on the Commissioner’s own initiative, whether there is a violation of the principle of equal treatment of individuals on grounds of racial, national or ethnic origin, community, language, colour, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, political or any other opinion, in the fields of social protection, social security, social benefits, healthcare, education, participation in associations and trade unions, or access to goods and services, including housing. The Commissioner can act in both the public and private sectors.
An equality body: In this capacity, the Commissioner checks, upon a complaint submitted by an individual or on the Commissioner’s own initiative, whether there is a violation of the principle of equal treatment of individuals on grounds of gender or gender identity, racial, national or ethnic origin, community, language, colour, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, political or any other opinion, in the fields of employment, work and vocational training, including employment contracts or documents that govern an employment relationship, recruitment, dismissal, vacancy advertisements in newspapers, etc. The Commissioner also checks, in particular, whether there is gender-based discrimination against individuals in terms of their access to goods and services (e.g. education, healthcare, banking, or insurance services). The Commissioner can act in both the public and private sectors.
An independent authority for the prevention of torture: In this capacity, the Commissioner freely visits places in which individuals are entirely or partly deprived of their liberty (such as prisons, police detention centres, psychiatric institutions, or homes for the elderly), to observe and record the living conditions. The aim is to ensure the dignity and rights of persons who are in these circumstances. After making these visits, the Commissioner makes recommendations on improving both the conditions identified and the relevant legislative and institutional framework. Also, in the context of carrying out control over and openly communicating with the competent authorities, the Commissioner may make recommendations and proposals with a view to preventing torture and inhumane or degrading treatment. The Commissioner can act in both the public and private sectors.
A national human rights institution: In this capacity, the Commissioner puts forward opinions, recommendations and proposals when he or she feels that any state authority has violated or restricted human rights. The Commissioner also takes broader action to promote respect for human rights and, for that purpose, contacts NGOs focusing on human rights and other organised groups.
An independent authority for the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities: In this capacity, the Commissioner is responsible for promoting, protecting and monitoring the implementation in Cyprus of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The Commissioner examines, either on his or her own initiative or following complaints, whether state authorities are complying with the provisions of the Convention, and reports on how the situation can be improved. The Commissioner also works together with other bodies that are active in this field and provides education, promotes awareness and strengthens the enforcement in practice of the rights of persons with disabilities.
Offices have been set up and put in operation in the Cyprus Police to promote, protect and strengthen fundamental human rights. Following is a brief outline of the duties and obligations of these offices, demonstrating the effort made to ensure that fundamental rights are protected by the Police:
The Human Rights Office reports to the European Union and International Relations Directorate of the Cyprus Police Headquarters and:
The Office for Combating Discrimination reports to the Crime Department of the Cyprus Police Headquarters and aims to prevent and fight discrimination, racism and xenophobia.
As part of its key functions, the Office:
The Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Office reports to the Crime Department of the Cyprus Police Headquarters and is concerned primarily with coordination, implementation and support.
Its key functions consist in monitoring cases or incidents, studying criminal files and making recommendations on how to further handle them. Given its responsibility for enforcing the law, the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Office works together with the investigators responsible for these cases, family consultants or Social Welfare Services officials, and other state or non-state officials with responsibilities in the area, and also with victims, who are contacted personally or by phone. In cooperation with the Cyprus Police Academy, the Office also organises training seminars for police officers.
The Office for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings reports to the Crime Department of the Cyprus Police Headquarters and aims to combat trafficking in human beings, in accordance with the Law on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in and Exploitation of Human Beings and Protection of Victims or any other relevant legislation and police obligations, both at European and international levels.
As part of its key functions and responsibilities, the Office:
With a view to securing and protecting the rights of identified victims of trafficking in human beings, the Office works together with, in addition to the social welfare services, such NGOs as Cyprus Stop Trafficking, KISA, Caritas, Well Spring, etc.
The Commissioner for Children’s Rights (Epítropos Prostasías ton Dikaiomáton tou Paidioú) was established as an institution by the Law on the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights of 2007 (Law 74(I)/2007), which entered into force on 22 June 2007. The Law provides for the appointment of a Commissioner, the establishment and operation of the Commissioner’s Office, and other related matters. It was amended in 2014 by the Protection of Children’s Rights Law of 2014 [44(I)/2014], in order to handle additional issues.
There are important provisions laid down in the Law to enable the Commissioner’s Office to serve as an independent national human rights organisation responsible for protecting and promoting children’s rights. The Law provides for broad functions and obligations for the Commissioner, which can be outlined, for reference purposes, on the basis of four pillars:
Ms Leda Koursoumba was appointed as the first Commissioner for Children’s Rights. She is currently serving a second term as Commissioner.
Contact details:
Corner of Apelli St. and Pavlou Nirvana St., 5th floor, 1496
Tel.: +357 22873200
Fax: +357 22872365
Email: childcom@ccr.gov.cy
Website: http://www.childcom.org.cy/
The Commissioner for Personal Data Protection (Epítropos Prostasías Dedoménon Prosopikoú Charaktíra) serves as an independent supervisory authority established by virtue of the Personal Data Processing (Protection of the Individual) Law 112 of 2001 (Law 112(I)/2001), by which Directive 95/46/EC was transposed into the national legislation.
The Commissioner supervises the implementation of the above Law. The Commissioner’s functions include the performance of controls, the issuance of such authorisations as provided for by law and the imposition of administrative penalties for breaching the Law. The Commissioner works together with the relevant authorities in other Member States and the Council of Europe in respect of matters falling within the scope of the Commissioner’s responsibility and promoting respect for the rights of European citizens to privacy and the protection of personal data.
The Commissioner serves as the national supervisory authority for Europol, Eurojust, Eurodac, SIS II (Second Generation Schengen Information System), VIS (Visa Information System), CIS (Custom Information System) and the IMI (Internal Market Information System).
The Commissioner’s Office aims to provide the general public with better information on the rights provided for by Law and cultivate a privacy-friendly culture both in the public and private sectors.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a milestone in the history of disability, and requires states to adopt all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures with a view to protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life. The Republic of Cyprus ratified the Convention in 2011 and prepared and adopted its first national action plan for disability in 2013.
The Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, being the focal point, undertook to coordinate the effective implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2013-2015 and 2017-2020 national action plans for disability.
Furthermore, the Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities aims to promote the social protection, social inclusion and employment of persons with disabilities. Its key activities include:
The Department’s vision is to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities and open up new social integration prospects for them through planning, coordination and implementation of reform.
The main task of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women consists in studying and looking into, in the context of the exercise of parliamentary scrutiny, whether the provisions of the Constitution of Cyprus, of international conventions and of the relevant legislation are observed in the Republic of Cyprus.
Within this context, the Committee looks into cases relating to human rights violations against citizens and other persons living in the Republic of Cyprus and reports to the House of Representatives accordingly.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.