Newsroom
A newly released audit of Cyprus’s Legal Service for 2023–2024 describes serious inefficiencies in how court-awarded fines and costs are handled, with tens of millions of euros remaining unpaid and systemic weaknesses affecting oversight and enforcement.
The Audit Office found that by the end of 2024, more than €26 million owed to the state had not been collected. In some instances, payments have been outstanding for up to a decade, pointing to prolonged delays and ineffective recovery mechanisms. The report also notes that applications to suspend the execution of fine warrants are often processed slowly and without consistent criteria.
One of the core issues identified is the lack of proper verification of financial information submitted by individuals requesting suspension of fines. Apart from limited checks through Social Insurance Services, authorities do not systematically confirm applicants’ declared income or family details. This creates a risk that decisions are made using incomplete or unreliable data.
The audit also reveals a pattern in which applicants make small, last-minute payments to improve their chances of securing approval for suspension, even if they previously failed to meet payment obligations. Because past behavior is not adequately reviewed, individuals with long-standing debts can still benefit from repeated suspensions.
Procedural inconsistencies were also mentioned. Applications are not always handled in order, with some reviewed quickly while others remain pending for months. Additionally, there are no clear guidelines for determining repayment amounts, resulting in very low monthly installments in some cases.
Problems extend to the Legal Service’s record-keeping systems. Data transferred from older handwritten records into digital systems was never fully verified, making it difficult to confirm the accuracy of outstanding amounts. Missing information, such as court decision dates, further complicates efforts to track how long debts have remained unpaid. Even in the newer e-law system, key fields are absent, limiting transparency and accountability.
The report also points to delays in receiving official court orders, which slows down the enforcement process. Meanwhile, collecting debts from foreign nationals, particularly asylum seekers challenging deportation decisions, has proven especially difficult, with some cases dating back more than a decade.
Beyond financial management, the audit uncovered administrative shortcomings. A lease agreement for a government building expired in 2023 and has yet to be renewed, while the Legal Service’s library lacks basic controls, including inventory tracking, restricted access, and adequate fire protection.
