Justice and Public Order Minister Ionas Nicolaou discussed on Wednesday with Russia’s Deputy Minister of Justice, Maksim Travnikov, ways to tackle children’s kidnappings in a more effective way.
Speaking after the meeting, in Nicosia, Nicolaou said that Travnikov referred to certain cases of particular concern for the Russian Federation, while the Cypriot side also set a number of requests that are still pending.
The Minister referred in particular to the kidnappings of children that are transferred from Cyprus to Russia, noting that this is a very sensitive issue.
«We presented Travnikov with facts concerning the cases that have been submitted to the Ministry and which are pending before the Russian authorities,» Nicolaou said.
He added that he requested from Travnikov to extend bilateral cooperation in dealing with this matter and to become more efficient.
Regarding other issues of judicial cooperation, the Minister said that Russian authorities offered the exchange expertise in supporting judicial authorities, such as the Commercial Court.
Nicolaou informed the Russian Deputy Minister about ongoing justice reforms in Cyprus, noting especially Ireland’s contribution in reforming Cypriot courts in the framework of a European program.
The Minister of Justice also referred to the Administrative Court and efforts to establish a Commercial Court and an International Protection Administrative Court. “We move forward with setting up three new courts, while modernizing at the same time our court structures, starting from the Supreme Court” Nicoalou said.
Furthermore he referred to other reforms, such as e-justice, an area where Russia already offered to provide expertise.
Nicolaou announced that the Ministry of Justice has been invited to attend an international conference in Russia, in the presence of Ministers and experts from other countries.