After five years of legal battle, KISA is now vindicated by the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC), which annulled the decision to deregister KISA from the Register of Associations, after first ruling that the First Instance decision of the Administrative Court, which ratified the Registrar’s decision to deregister it, was not justified[1].
The SCC vindicated KISA by referring to the basic principles of the protection of human rights and in particular the right of association and assembly and therefore freedom of expression as fundamental rights, the respect of which is essential in a democratic society, as per KISA’s positions in its appeal against the decision of the Administrative Court of First Instance.
The SCC ruled that restrictions can be imposed based on the principle of necessity and proportionality, a principle that was not observed in KISA’s case, since it was deregistered before it was even allowed to exercise its rights to objection and hierarchical appeal as set out in the law. It also ruled that at the material time of the decision the “landscape was not clear” with various extensions being granted for compliance of existing associations with formal cases until the enactment of the latest legislation, which gave a deadline of only two months. The Court of First Instance failed to carry out a necessity and proportionality review.
KISA welcomes this important decision, not only as a successful conclusion to its persistence and struggles, but also as an important one for the recognition of citizens’ right to association and freedom of expression. KISA considers the decision to be a significant victory against the government’s attacks on human rights, such as the recent legislation restricting the right to peaceful assembly and protest.
To ensure these rights in practice, the relevant legislation on Associations and the right to peaceful assembly should be radically amended through public and substantive consultation with civil society and all stakeholders. KISA will proceed to demand the immediate implementation of the SCC decision by the competent state agencies by re-registering our organisation in the Register of Associations.
Steering Committee
[1] https://kisa.org.cy/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/KISA-court-deregistration-27102025.pdf
