CYPRUS: New Justice Minister is a lawyer with a mission

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has appointed Limassol lawyer George Savvides as the new Justice and Public Order Minister who is tasked with speeding up the legal system.

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Savvides, 60, will be sworn in on Friday during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

He succeeds Ionas Nicolaou, who resigned at the beginning of May after heavy criticism over how police handled reports of missing foreign women who turned out to be victims of a serial killer. 

Nicolaou remained in this post until the end of the month, at the President`s request, to push through reforms of the justice system. 

President Anastasiades said that Nicolaou was one of the most effective Ministers and among those who worked the hardest. 

Referring to the justice system reform, Anastasiades expressed hope that parliament will contribute so that justice will be delivered in a faster way. 

He said, Cyprus, unfortunately, was ranked last among EU member states and 73rd worldwide for delivery of justice. 

“This is an indispensable reform, a radical one, which creates the necessary conditions for a speedy administration of justice,” said Anastasiades. 

Anastasiades said that Savvides, as a lawyer, is well aware of the problems in the field of justice. 

The new Justice Minister, who was born in Famagusta but lives in Limassol, studied law in the UK. He is a member of the Cyprus Bar Association and of the International Bar Association.