The Association of Democratic Lawyers was founded by a group of colleague lawyers who, within the framework of ongoing public discourse and the conditions prevailing in our Homeland today, jointly decided to establish a platform for the public expression of concerns, reflections, and views on matters of public interest.
As a result, the Cyprus Democratic Lawyers Association was created, and the undersigned was entrusted with the communication of the decision and the unanimous Declaration of our Association, the content of which is set out immediately below.
1. Our Association does not constitute a political organization, and certainly not a party-political one. It is not founded upon, nor does it have as its background, any of the known traditional ideological platforms, but is simply defined by what the Principles of Democracy and Freedom determine as the modern European State governed by the Rule of Law. What connects its members is adherence to the Democratic Ideal and to whatever emanates from it, namely equality before the law, equal civic rights, respect for human rights, the identification and expression of opinion and judgment, and, if possible, the prevention and deterrence of any arbitrariness on the part of those who staff the three constitutionally established powers of the State — Legislative, Executive, and Judicial — in relation to citizens.
2. Our purpose, as a non-party and generally non-political organization, is neither opposition activity nor criticism of the actions of state authority in the service of any expediency, but the sincere expression of opinion and view on existing problems and situations of social reality and current affairs, with the guiding aim of restoring legality and the proper functioning of institutions within the framework and the Principles of our modern European Legal Civilization.
3. It is our position and firm view that it constitutes an imperative duty of all classes or organized groups of citizens, without exception, as well as of each individual citizen, to participate and engage in public affairs, and in particular to become active in the struggle for the survival of the Republic of Cyprus and the preservation of the Cypriot State as a member of the International Community and as an equal member of the European Union, and to enjoy all the rights emanating from this status as an equal European citizen.
4. It is also our firm position that the survival of the Cypriot State is served to the greatest extent by the proper functioning, at the highest levels, of the three constitutionally established powers of our State — Legislative, Executive, and Judicial — and their respective institutions. This constitutes the protective shield of small states against the arrogance and aggressiveness of powerful states, as occurs with Turkey and its conduct towards Cyprus. It must not be overlooked that Cyprus has survived to this day, when repeated attempts were made to overthrow the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey from 1963 onwards, because it invoked in its defense the indisputable Democratic Principle of the Doctrine of Necessity, according to which the supreme law is the salvation of the people through the protection of their human rights. The decision issued at that time by the Plenary of the Supreme Court constituted a model for the application of these principles in many other cases that subsequently arose around the world.
5. The consistent adherence of small states to the proper functioning of institutions therefore constitutes a decisive and effective factor for their protection, because it renders them respected among the states that make up the international community, and particularly the European Union.
6. In formulating our Declaration, we wish to mention that it coincided that we had before us the text of a recent topical speech by the former President of the Supreme Court, Mr. Georgios Pikis, from which we wish to quote the part of the text that we consider to constitute a fundamental principle, which should form the basis and guiding commitment of small states in the struggle for survival and the preservation of their national independence, and which we fully adopt. Namely:
“Justice is lost only when its bearer relinquishes it. Human rights are inherent to the individual, they are the possession of all individuals and of each individual separately, and no one may negotiate or limit them, because they are inalienable.”
This excerpt must constitute the guiding principle and direct the position of each negotiator in the search for a solution to our problem. No justification can stand for the relinquishment of the human rights of any citizen, particularly when it is taken into account that the Cyprus problem was created by the heinous international crime of invasion and occupation of the territories of a small country by a neighboring country a hundred times stronger, Turkey.
In the aforementioned speech, Mr. Georgios Pikis also states the following, which we adopt as part of our Declaration:
“Crime does not generate law, no matter how much time passes. Otherwise, violence would constitute the foundation of law, and violence, rather than justice, would constitute the basis of the functioning of human society. Law is the shield of the weak and the wronged. Compromise with injustice foreshadows new sufferings. This is testified by the history of humanity.”
7. In conclusion, the focus of the goals of our Association will be precisely our observations and proposals for the full establishment of the Principles of Democratic Legality and Justice in all sectors of state action and the manifestation of the institutional functions of the State.
On our website, positions and views of colleague lawyers as well as legal professionals related to the purposes of the Association will be hosted, and we will also proceed with publications including articles, interventions, announcements, and other printed informational material for reflection, as well as with the aim of correcting existing shortcomings.
Following the request of the colleague lawyers on whose initiative the Association was founded, it will be represented, until an Organizational Statute of representation and administration is drafted based on majority decisions, by the undersigned.