Cyprus is planning to change its constitution. This change will reduce the power of the Attorney-General. The Attorney-General currently has a lot of influence over accessing private communications. These changes are meant to help fight organised crime better.
The authority to get warrants for electronic surveillance will move. It will go to the head of the Cyprus Intelligence Service. Before, the Attorney-General needed to approve these warrants. Now, the intelligence chief can decide alone. However, a new committee will check these decisions. This committee will have three members. A former judge will lead it.
Nicos Tornaritis, who leads the House Legal Committee, said the changes are important. They will give law enforcement agencies better tools. Some people think the old rules made it hard to investigate crime. These new rules will make gathering information faster.
Changing the constitution needs many votes in parliament. It needs 38 out of 56 votes. Therefore, the proposed changes will likely be discussed a lot. The government will use a special legal idea called the "doctrine of necessity." This allows them to make changes in certain situations.
The House Legal Committee will finish the wording of the change soon. A vote in the main parliament is planned for April 2. After a warrant is given, the intelligence chief must tell the oversight committee quickly. This is a way to ensure accountability.
This is a big change from how things were done before. It shows Cyprus is trying to adapt to new security problems. The balance between privacy and safety will be a key topic. The Justice Minister and Police Chief attended the meeting, showing the importance of these security plans.