As in other countries, in Cyprus, a court of law which passes a sentence of imprisonment, may order that the sentence is suspended. That means that the individual will not be sent to prison, but only if they commit another offence within three years of the said order.
The law which prescribes for suspended sentences is the Conditional Suspension of Execution of a Sentence of Imprisonment Law of 1972 and the relevant case law of the Supreme Court.
Based on the above, only sentences of up to three years imprisonment may be suspended under the relevant legislation. The court, in deciding whether or not to order the suspension of a sentence, has a wide discretion. This discretion of course must be exercised judicially.
The case-law of the Supreme Court has established criteria which must be examined in order to ascertain whether or not a suspension of a sentence is justified. These criteria need not be concurrent. These are:
The seriousness of the facts of the case and the defendant's motives in committing the offence.
The defendant's previous record (for example any previous convictions will act against he or she).
The defendant's behaviour after the offence and especially the presence of any indications of remorse (such as a plea of guilty or whether or not the victim of the crime has been compensated).
How a defendant has used the time from the commission of the offence, a plea of guilty and a clear criminal record are usually weighty factors in the court's judgement.
It is also important to note that the court must reconsider all the mitigating factors which led it to the initial sentence, when deciding on the issue of suspension. For example many judgements have been overturned where a court of first instance stated that, given that many factors were taken into consideration in applying a relatively lenient sentence, these could not also be taken into consideration in deciding whether or not to suspend the sentence. This is wrong in law and there are many Supreme Court judgements to his effect.
As mentioned above, where a court decides to order the suspension of a term of imprisonment, the suspension runs for three years. The court must explain to the defendant in plain language the meaning of the suspension and the possible consequences of reoffending during that time.
Finally, where a person is convicted of an offence committed during the term of suspension, then the court which deals with the sentence for the new case will have discretion to order that the previous sentence is executed in whole or in part. This however only applies where the defendant is actually sentenced to a term of imprisonment for the new offence.
Dimitris Lochias*
Lawyer - Legal Consultant
*Dimitris Lochias is a lawyer who specialises in the criminal law and human rights issues and is a Member of the Cyprus Bar Association. He practices in criminal & extradition law in all levels of Cyprus' Courts, including the Supreme Court, District Courts and in the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) Courts of Episkopi & Dhekelia.
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