of the Constitution—Recourse by Minister of Finance, in his official capacity, for annulment of a decision of the Public Service Commission in disciplinaryproceedings against an Assistant Assessor in the Department of inland Revenue— Such recourse is not maintanablefor two reasons:
that Article. Recourse
of the Constitution—Such recourse is aimed at the particular decision concerned, and not at the organ responsible for it—Therefore, the process of judicial review cannot befrustrated by any secondary consideration, such as the exact title of the proceedings—See, also, above and below. Practice—Title of proceedings—Litigation between two organs of Government—Scope of the Practice Direction inChristodoulou andTht Republic, 1 R.S.C.C. 1,atp. 9. See, also, immediately above. 691 PUBUC SERVICE COMMISSION 1968 Dec. 10 Words and Phrases—"Person" inArticle 1462 of the Constitution. MINISTER OF FINANCE Public Service Commission—Decisionof Commission in disciplinary proceedings against a public officer—Whether such decision can be challenged by the Minister concerned—See above. v. PUBUC SERVICE COMMISSION This recourse is made by the Minister of Finance, in his Official capacity, against the Public Service Commission whereby it is being sought to declare null and void,
of the Constitution, part of a decision of the Respondent Commission, reached on the 28th July, 1967, in disciplinary proceedings against the Interested Party, A. Menelaou, an Assistant Assessor in the Department of Inland Revenue That Department does, admittedly, come
the Ministry of Finance. Certain legal issues raised by the Opposition filed by the Respondent were heard as preliminary issues. They amount, in effect, to whether or not the Applicant Minister did have a right of recourse
in the present matter, and to whether or not, in anycase, the requirements regarding legitimate interest laid down by Article 146.2 of the Constitution, were satisfied in this case, so as to entitle the Minister to hie this recourse; a subsidiary procedural issue was also raised regarding the proper title of the proceedings, namely, whether or not the description of both the Applicant and the Respondent should have been "The Republic through", respectively, "The Minister of Finance" and "The Public Service Commission". Paragraphs 1, 2 and 6 of Article 146 of the Constitution provide " 1 . The Supreme Constitutional Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate finally on a recourse made to it on a complaint that a decision, an act or omission of any organ, authority or person, exercising any executive or administrative authority is contrary to any of the provisions of this Constitution or of any law or is made in excess or in abuse of powers vested in such organ or authority or person. 2. Such a recourse may be made by a person whose any existing legitimate interest, which he has either as a person or by virtue of being a member of a Community, is adversely and directly affected by such decision or act or omission " 692 6. Any person aggrieved by any decision or act declared to be void
paragraph 4 of this Article or by any omission declared thereunder that it ought not to have been made shall be entitled, if his claim is not met to his satisfaction by the organ, authority or person concerned, to institute legal proceedings in a court for the recovery of damages or for being granted other remedy and to recover just and equitable damages to be assessed bythe court or tobegranted such otherjust and equitable remedy as such court is empowered to grant". In dismissing the recourse, the Court :Held, I. As to the procedural point regarding the proper title of the proceedings:
proper judicial review, and not as aimed at the organ responsible for it. Thus, the process ofjudicial review cannot be frustrated by any secondary consideration, such as the exact title of the proceedings.
of the Constitution a Minister is the "Head of his Ministry", nevertheless the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 146 of the Constitution are so framed as to require that the person making the recourse should be the one directly affected; so, assuming for the moment that the sub judice decision could, otherwise, be made the subject-matter of the present recourse, such recourse could only have been instituted by the Head of the Inland Revenue, the proper functioning of which is, allegedly, affected by such decision; the Applicant Minister 693 1968 Dec. 10 MINISTER OF FINANCE v. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 1968 Dec. 10 MINISTER OF FINANCE V. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION could only be deemed to bedirectlyaffected ifthe said decision interfered with the proper functioning of his Ministry— the word Ministry being
stood in the narrow sense of the term, and not including all Departments coming
it.
Article T46, in the absence of legislation enabling (as in Greece) a Minister to make a recourse in a matter affecting a public officer. (Ozturk and The Republic, 2 R.S.C.C. 35, considered and distinguished).
it.
, against the said decision; because in such a case he could still be affected in his official capacity, but also, at the same time personally; I leave this aspect entirely open.
Constitution, part of a decision of the Respondent Commission, reached on the 28th July, 1967, in disciplinary proceedings against the Interested Party, A. Menelaou, an Assistant Assessoi m the Department of Inland Revenue. SuchDepartmentdoes,admittedly, comeunderthe Ministry of Finance. The main grounds on which the relief in question is claimed 695 MINISTER OF FINANCE ν PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 1968 Dec. 10 MINISTER OF FINANCE V. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION by the Applicant Minister are that the Respondent Commission erroneously failed to take into account, in relation to the charges before it, statements made previously by the Interested Party, which were, allegedly, relevant, and furthermore, that the Respondent's decision was contrary to the facts proved by evidence before it. The legal issues which were raised by paragraphs 1, 2 and 3of the Opposition, filed by the Respondent, were heard as preliminary issues. They amount, in effect, to whether or not the Applicant did havea right of recourse
in the present matter, and to whether or not, in any case, the requirements regarding legitimate interest, laid down by Article 146.2, were satisfied in this case, so as to entitle the Applicant to file this recourse; there was, also, raised a subsidiary issue regarding the proper title of the proceedings, namely, whether or not the description of both the Applicant and the Respondent should have been "The Republic through", respectively, "The Minister of Finance" and "The Public Service Commission". I start by dealing, first, with the issue regarding the title of the proceedings :In administrative law a recourse is regarded as being aimed at the particular administrative decision concerned, with a view to bringing it
proper judicial review, and not as aimed at the organ responsible for it; thus, once such decision is before the Court, by means of appropriate proceedings instituted by a person properly entitled to do so, the process of judicial review cannot be frustrated by any secondary consideration, such as theexact title of the proceedings. In any case, though it is correct that a recourse made against an act, decision or omission of an organ of Government should be instituted against "The Republic", through such organ (see the Practice Direction in Christodoulouand The Republic, 1 R.S.C.C, 1. at p. 9), nevertheless in a case such as the present one, where there is being attempted to litigate between two organs of Government regarding the validity of the decision of one of them, I do not think that it was necessary, or proper, to have the Republic appear at the same time as both the Applicant and the Respondent in the title of the proceedings. 696 Coming next to the issue of legitimate interest, I take the view thatthough, indeed,
of the Consti tution, a Minister is the "Head of his Ministry", andthough the Department of Inland Revenue does come
the Ministry of Finance, nevertheless theprovisions of paragraph 2of Article 146oftheConstitutionaresoframed astorequire that the person making a recourse should be the one directly affected; so, assuming for the moment that the sub judice decision could, otherwise, be made the subject-matter ofthe present recourse, such recourse could only have been institu ted by the Head of the Departmentof Inland Revenue, the proper functioning of which is, allegedly, affected by such decision; the Applicant Minister could only be deemed to be directlyaffected if the said decision interfered with the properfunctioning of his Ministry—theMinistry beingunder stood in the narrow sense of the term, and not including all Departments coming
it. For the foregoing reason, this recourse, even if it could otherwise be made,has tofail, andit isdismissed accordingly. There is, however, a further reason for which this recourse should fail: I am in agreement with counsel for the Respondent and the Interested Party that, in the circumstances of this case, the sub judice decision could not be challenged at all, by the Applicant, by means of a recourse
. I am of the opinion that on a proper construction of such Article a recourse by one organ of Administration against thedecisionofanotherorgan of Administration isnotpossible in a case such as this one. In this respect Article 146 has to be read as a whole and, bearing, also, in mind theprovisions of paragraph 6 thereof, I cannotsee how thepresent Applicant could properly make this recourse
;
this Article one part of the Administration cannot make such a recourse against another part of the Administration (and by Administration I mean,for the purposes, at any rate, of this Judgment,the central Administration of the Republic, of which both the Applicant and the Respondent are parts, even though the Respondent is an independent organ within such Admi nistration). When one reads Article 146—in the light, also, of Article 697 1968 Dec. 10 MINISTER OF FINANCE ν PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 1968 Dec. 10 MINISTER OF FINANCE V. PUBUC SERVICE COMMISSION 151.2—there can be little doubt that the competence brought into being thereunder is of the same nature, in so far as a recourse for annulment is concerned, as the corresponding competence vested in the Greek Council of State
the provisions of Law 3713 (codifying Law 3713/1928 and subsequent amending enactments). In Greece the view was taken that
section 48 of Law 3713—which corresponds to our Article 146—public authorities, assuch,cannot makea recoursefor the annulment of an administrative decision affecting an individual or a legal person, unless there does exist express legislative provision enabling such acourse (see, interalia, Decision 803
the latter is, in any substantial way, different from that created
the former. No legislation enabling a Minister to make a recourse in a matter affecting a public officer exists as yet in Cyprus— desirable though it might be in certain respects. It is correct that in the case of Ozturk and TheRepublic, (2 R.S.C.C., p. 35) the Supreme Constitutional Court has pointed out in its Judgment—by way, really, of an obiter dictum—that "the word 'person' in paragraph 2 of Article 146 should be interpreted as including, in a proper case, a person acting in an official capacity". This view was expressed in relation to a situation in which the Public Service Commission could not reach any valid decision at all, due to the complex relevant requirements of paragraph 3
could lie by a person acting in an official capacity, because here the Applicant complains against a decision of the Commission, and not against its having not reached any decision at all. It has been argued by learned counsel for the Applicant that, this being a case of disciplinary proceedings, it was essentially different from any other case in which a decision of the Public Service Commission is reached in relation to a public officer, and that, therefore, this isanother instance of "a proper case" in which to interpret the word "person" in Article 146.2 as including a person acting in an official capacity; and that, therefore, a recourse was open to the Applicant,eventhough theCommissionhadreachedadecision inthe matter. Iagree that the acquittal of a public officer, in a disciplinary case before the Commission, may create a difficult situation for hissuperiors,especiallyifthelatterhappen tohold strongly the view that such discharge was an erroneous one and will affect the proper functioning of the branch of the public service
them. But the same would apply, with more or less equal force, in thecase of a refusal by the Commission to transfer, at the request of his superiors, an uncooperative officer, or in the case of the appointment to a vital post of an officer who is deemed by his superiors to be by far the worse out of the eligible candidates; all such things, and many others, could seriously influence the functioning of a Ministry or a Department. Nevertheless, I cannot accept that it is the object of Article 146—by itself and without beingcoupled with legislation for such a purpose—to provide a remedy for situations such as these; to hold otherwise would be to go entirely contrary to the essential nature of the competence
. Reference has been made, in the course of argument, by counsel for the Applicant, to, inter alia, French law on 699 1968 Dec. 10 MINISTER OF FINANCE v. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION this subject. I do appreciate all the hard work which he has done in this connection, but I really cannot find much guidance in French law, because the position, in this respect, in France, is fundamentally different from our own. In Cyprus we have to act within the rigid framework of the provisions of Article 146. In France the analogous jurisdiction started to be developed, primarily, by case law (such as the famous case of Cadotdecided on the 13thDecem ber, 1889, when the French Council of State decided that itwas atribunal of general jurisdiction—juge dedroitcommun —in the field of administrative law) and proceeded to evolve by means of a combination of jurisprudence and statutory provisions. The French administrative law judges had a much wider scope to fit the said jurisdiction to the changing needs of proper administration, than it is opentothis Court, here in Cyprus
only Article 146; and, moreover, when ever necessary, special legislation was being enacted, from time to time, for the purpose. The above difference is shown by certain cases decided by the French Council of State, two of which are referred to in Auby & Drago on Contentieux Administratif
it. Of course, I am not excluding the possibility—by this Judgment—of the existence of a case in which a Minister or a Head of Department may happen to be so personally involved in, and affected by, a decision of the Public Service Commission, that he may have a right of recourse,
, against the said decision; because in such a case he could still be affected in his official capacity, but also, at the same time, personally; I leave this aspect entirely open. In the result this recourse fails and it is dismissed, but there should be no order as to costs. Recoursedismissed. No order as to costs. 701 1968 Dec. 10 MINISTER OF FINANCE v. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
AI explanation based on the official legal text. Indicative, not a substitute for legal advice.