Eurobarometer study reveals Cypriots' divided faith in justice system's independence

A Eurobarometer study has shown that 25% of respondents in Cyprus perceive the independence of courts and judges in the country to be "very bad."

Within the framework of the study, entitled 'Perceived independence of the national justice systems in the EU among the general public – Cyprus' and based on fieldwork conducted between 14–27 February 2024, with 505 respondents in Cyprus, respondents were asked to rate the independence of the justice system in Cyprus.

In response,

• 7% rated it as “Very good”
  
• 43% as “Fairly good”
  
• 25% as “Fairly bad”
  
• 11% as “Very bad”
  
• 15% responded “Don’t know/No Answer”

Compared to the EU27 average, Cyprus had a slightly higher percentage of “Fairly good” ratings (43% vs 41%) while fewer people in Cyprus rated it as “Very good” (7% vs 11%).

Among Cypriots who rated the justice system positively:

• 50% said this was “somewhat” because of no interference or pressure from government and politicians, and 20% said “very much”
  
• 28% cited “somewhat” and 18% “very much” due to lack of pressure from economic or other interests
  
• 59% said “somewhat” and 23% “very much” believed the status and position of judges sufficiently guarantee their independence

Among those rating Cyprus’ justice system negatively:

• 64% attributed this “very much” to interference or pressure from government and politicians, and 25% said “somewhat”
  
• 67% cited “very much” and 25% “somewhat” due to interference from economic or other interests
  
• 39% said “very much” and 38% “somewhat” due to a belief that the status and position of judges do not sufficiently guarantee independence

Also, 9% of Cypriot respondents said they had been involved in a court dispute in the past two years, compared to 7% EU-wide.

• In terms of preferred court hearing format:
  
  • 76% of Cypriots preferred to attend in person
    
  • 15% preferred videoconferencing
    
  • 5% had no preference
    
  • 4% responded “Don’t know/No Answer”
    

Beyond Cyprus, more than half of European Union citizens rate their country's justice system positively, with 36% expressing negative opinions about it.

Danish citizens are the most likely to rate the independence of their courts and judges highly, followed by people from Austria and Finland.

In all EU member states, at least half of those who rate their justice systems positively attribute this to a lack of interference or pressure from the government and politicians.

The proportion sharing this view ranges from 50% in Bulgaria and Romania to 71% in Austria and Finland.

By contrast, 30% of respondents in Bulgaria, 29% in Poland and 28% in Croatia rate the independence of their courts and judges as "very bad".

Between 2024 and 2025, perceptions of judicial independence became significantly less positive in Romania, with a drop of nine percentage points, and in Cyprus and Estonia, which both experienced a decrease of seven percentage points.

People who have been involved in a dispute that went to court in the last two years are less likely to believe in the independence of courts and judges compared to those who have not been involved in such a dispute.

Meanwhile, Polish respondents, more than people in other countries, say that no interference or pressure from government and politicians "very much" explains their positive rating of the justice system’s independence in their country.

On the other hand, the lowest proportions sharing this view are observed in France (14%) and in Cyprus (15%).

Self-employed respondents tend to rate the independence of courts and judges in their country as less favourable compared to those who are unemployed or manual workers.

Men are also slightly more likely than women to say that no interference or pressure from government and politicians explains their positive rating of the level of independence of the justice system in their country.

When communicating with courts in the context of judicial proceedings, almost half (47%) of respondents would prefer to communicate through electronic means, while 44% would prefer to communicate using paper, the study also revealed.

Click here to see the Cyprus factsheet and here to access the full Eurobarometer report.

(Sources: Eurobarometer, Euronews)