“Based on the public interest” the request of the Attorney General, Giorgos Savvidis, was filed against the General Auditor, Odysseus Michaelidis.
This position is displayed in the announcement of the Legal Servicewhich was made public a while ago and in which it is recorded that the application will result in the dismissal of the official in question.
The text also states that Mr. Michaelidis “is responsible for inappropriate behavior”, which “will result in his dismissal from his position”
The full text of the announcement:
“The Attorney General of the Republic, George L. Savvidis, today registered with the Supreme Constitutional Court, acting as a Council, a request, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, for the dismissal of the Auditor General of the Republic, Mr. Odysseus F. Michaelidis, due to inappropriate behavior.
The Attorney General of the Republic as the Applicant in the said procedure is represented by the law offices of Kallis & Kallis DEPE and L. Papafilippou & Ltd.
The Application was registered following the relevant constitutional provisions in the public interest and for the assessment of the facts by the Council, as the only one competent to decide, if Mr. Odysseas Michaelidis is responsible for inappropriate behavior, which will result in the dismissal from his position”.
Christos Cleridis: It does not constitute inappropriate behavior
The lawyer Christos Cleridis, from of the Auditor General's legal team had stated, among other things, earlier in the CYPE: “I understand that the complaint is that he (the Auditor General) exceeded his powers”, adding that exceeding any powers “does not constitute improper conduct ». He reminded that the courts “in hundreds of cases” have exceeded their authority and competence and that they are checked by the higher court in the form of an appeal or by an application to the Supreme Court to check the competence of the court.
In the Constitution us, he added, “express provision is made in article 139”, when there is any excess of authority or questioning of authority, of one body at the expense of another body, the complaining body is entitled to refer the matter to the Supreme Court then, today to the Supreme Constitutional Court to decide.
Mr. Cleridis noted that matters of competence are controlled by a specific procedure and that they do not constitute inappropriate behavior. He noted that improper behavior “is something else” (misconduct), “it is where someone has behaved in such a way, that it is not appropriate to be in this position”.
He mentioned that the powers exercised by the Auditor General, i.e. control of expenditure and in general the management of various public and state affairs, are not exercised by him alone, but there is an Audit Service and the decisions are not made by a single member, i.e. by himself, but there is a six-member board that makes these decisions. “Sometimes there can be a disagreement, but in most cases, the decisions are unanimous,” said Mr. Cleridis and raised the question of whether the Audit Service should be abolished because its decisions are not liked.
KYPE/philenews
