This is the second of a series of free transparency-related Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Webinars organised by the School of Law of the Cyprus Campus of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan Cyprus) in association with the British High Commission in Nicosia
Date Tuesday 25th May 2021
Time 18:00-20:00 Cyprus time (i.e. 16:00-18:00 UK time)
Venue Online via Microsoft Teams (Details will follow after registration)
THE GENERAL AIMS OF THE SERIES
On 22 December 2020, the Law on the Right of Access to Public Sector Information 2017 (Ο περί τουΔικαιώματος Πρόσβασης σε Πληροφορίες του Δημοσίου Τομέα Νόμος του 2017) came into force in the Republic of Cyprus. The Law, which is available in Greek on the Cylaw website of the Cyprus Bar Association (at www.cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/non-ind/2017_1_184/full.html), has deep implications for the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, the wider public sector, the general public and the legal profession of the Republic of Cyprus. With this Law in mind, one general aim of the series is to promote greater public awareness of what is meant by transparency, open justice, access to public sector information and related principles. A second general aim is to reflect upon the British experience of applying these principles in practice.
THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THE WEBINAR
Parliamentary transparency and accountability are principles with far-reaching implications, particularly in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Cyprus and other democratic sovereign states which belong to the Commonwealth, the Council of Europe or both. With this reality in mind, the Webinar has a number of inter-linked aims:
- to define what is meant by parliamentary transparency and accountability;
- to explain how parliamentary transparency and accountability have been applied by the UK Parliament, particularly with the aims of publicising parliamentary proceedings and encouraging public participation in these proceedings;
- to consider the statutory and common law context vis-à-vis freedom of information, data protection and parliamentary privilege;
- to assess how the UK Parliament and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority have promoted parliamentary transparency and accountability in relation to the pay, allowances, costs and interests of parliamentarians; and
- to highlight the educational benefits of parliamentary transparency and accountability.
TARGET AUDIENCE
This CPD Webinar is free and open to the general public, subject to prior registration. However, it is primarily aimed at parliamentarians, parliamentary staff, judges, members of the legal profession, trainee lawyers and law students in the Republic of Cyprus, the United Kingdom and other parts of the Commonwealth, the Council of Europe and the wider world. The Webinar may also be of interest to others, including civil servants, police officers, other law enforcement personnel and students from disciplines other than law, such as political science. The Webinar will be pitched at an intermediate level.
CERTIFICATION OF ATTENDANCE FOR CPD PURPOSES
Participation may contribute to the CPD of members of the legal profession in England and Wales, the Republic of Cyprus and internationally. UCLan Cyprus, through its School of Law, is an accredited provider of CPD programmes under the relevant Cyprus Bar Association scheme. At the end of the Webinar, the participation of lawyers practising in the Republic of Cyprus will be certified in accordance with the CPD requirements of the Cyprus Bar Association. For the participation of any lawyer to be certified in this way, he or she must attend the whole of the Webinar. Within a few working days of the Webinar, other participants will receive, by email, an electronic Certificate of Participation.
LANGUAGE English
ORGANISER School of Law, UCLan Cyprus, 12-14 University Avenue, Pyla, Larnaka District 7080 (www.uclancyprus.ac.cy/)
REGISTRATION
Admission is free, but registration is essential. To register to attend the Webinar, please click here and return the consent form to lawacademy@uclancyprus.ac.cy (Telephone: +357 24694097). The running of the Webinar is subject to a satisfactory number of participants booking their place as soon as reasonably possible. Accordingly, participants who wish to attend are kindly requested to book their places promptly and, in any event, not later than 24 hours before the scheduled start time.
NOTICE
Each Webinar in this CPD Series will be recorded and disseminated publicly subject to the Policies of UCLan Cyprus, including its Privacy and GDPR Policy. Consent from participants will be sought. Recordings and any related materials will be published on the Rule of Law Monitoring Mechanism platform of the School of Law, UCLan Cyprus (which is hosted at https://ruleoflawmonitoringmechanism.eu/). In each Webinar, each speaker and other participant will take part for educational purposes in an educational setting. Accordingly, what each participant will provide verbally, electronically or otherwise must not be accepted or interpreted as either legal advice or any other form of advice.
You can see the webinar’s flyer here.
To register, please fill in the form here and press subscribe.
