SCHOOL OF LAW YEAR IN REVIEW 2020 unic.ac.cy/school-of-law UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA INTRODUCTION BY THE DEAN, PROF. DR ACHILLES C. EMILIANIDES 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. The third decade of this century began as abruptly as the previous two decades, as the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has led to a new international crisis, unlike any we have ever witnessed before. This has raised significant doubts once again over the ability of major states and international organisations to act proactively in order to safeguard the interests of their citizens. Moreover, fundamental premises of western societies have been disputed. Once again, states have been forced to restrict human rights with the aim of safeguarding our collective existence from a recurring invisible enemy: COVID-19. Whereas each particular moment in history is unique, it still resembles previous ones. The water that flows in the river has in the meantime changed, because everything flows (as Heraclitus had famously noted), but still this does not imply that the river contains anything other than water. As Thucydides mentioned, the same events will always occur so long as human nature remains the same; even if the catalyst for the particular acts of humanity are extraneous acts of nature. The University of Nicosia and its School of Law, had planned early on for the potential wide-reaching effects of the pandemic, and were ready for the eventual shut-down of our physical premises. For the past year we have been offering all our courses via electronic means, an unfortunate, but necessary option, since physical contact was impossible. The experience of our School in offering DL courses, the technological innovation of the University and the dedication shown by our faculty and students has made it possible to continue offering all of our courses daily, with the same content as before, even though the manner/mode in which we offer them has changed. We are proud that during the pandemic, and despite the obvious restraints, we have not only continued our academic work, but we have also maintained our social engagement. Video and audio podcasts, as well as online conferences have become the new norm, one we faced with excitement and determination. This Annual Review includes the highlights, events, publications and distinctions of our School and faculty during a year that reminded us once again of the importance of carpe diem. The School of Law houses two departments, the Department of Law and the Department of Politics and Governance, and is one of the most active in the region, as evidenced in this booklet. During 2020 our faculty continued to be actively engaged in high quality teaching, cutting-edge research and extra-curricular activities that promoted the School and the University of Nicosia. Law and politics have an increased role during the pandemic, for safeguarding individual liberties and the rule of law, for protecting public health, for promoting international collaboration and peace. We live in an era of liberalisation and unprecedented technological change and we need to be as open-minded and innovative as possible, in order to effectively address the challenges and opportunities these developments present. Since our field deals with the provision of specialised services, it cannot be fully replaced by technology, contrary to what occurs in more traditional professions. But in order to stay afloat and continue to thrive, our field needs to adapt. We can aim for more jobs only if we innovate instead of automate, i.e. we should aim to engage in fields previously not thought possible and to adjust our working and educational practices accordingly, in order to become pioneers in the field of law. 2 SCHOOL OF LAW OUR FACULTY Prof. Dr Achilles C. Emilianides Dr Giorgos Charalambous Dr Nicolas Ioannides Dean (Public, Private and Commercial Law) Assistant Professor (Politics, Governance), Adjunct Faculty (Public International Law) Prof. Andreas Theophanous Co-ordinator of the BA programme in Dr Maria Stylianidou Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations and European Studies Adjunct Faculty (Public Finance Law) Governance (Political Economy, Public Policy) Dr Stergios Mitas Dr Konstantinos Pliatsikas Prof. Nestor Courakis Assistant Professor (Jurisprudence, Public Law), Adjunct Faculty (Private Law) Co-ordinator of the LLM in Law programme (Criminal Sciences) Dr Pantelis Rentoulis Prof. Antonis Manitakis Dr Vagia Polyzoidou Adjunct Faculty (Private Law) Chair of the Scientific Committee of Assistant Professor (Criminal Law), Co-ordinator of the LLB in Law programme Dr Stamatoula Panagakou the Department of Law (Constitutional Law) Adjunct Faculty (Political Philosophy) Dr Yiannos Katsourides Prof. Farid Mirbagheri Dr Konstantinos Voulgarakis (International Relations, Middle Eastern Affairs) Assistant Professor (Politics), Co-ordinator of the PhD programme in International Relations Adjunct Faculty (Private and Procedural Law) Prof. Hubert Faustmann and European Studies Dr Nicolas Kyriakides (History, Politics), Co-ordinator of the BA Adjunct Faculty (Private and Procedural Law) programme in International Relations Dr Marios Sarris and European Studies Assistant Professor (Social Anthropology) Dr Ioannis Yiokaris Adjunct Faculty (Commercial Law) Prof. Irini Stamatoudi Dr Emilios A. Solomou Professor (Intellectual Property, Cultural Property), Lecturer (History), UNESCO Chair Dr Sophocles Ioulianou Co-ordinator of the PhD programme in Law Dr Grigoris Michaelides Adjunct Faculty (Public Procurement) Dr Christina Ioannou Lecturer (Tax Law) Dr Victoria Pistikou Associate Dean, Associate Professor Dr Fotios Nicolaou Adjunct Faculty (Political Economy) (EU Politics, Labour Law) Lecturer (Private Law) Dr Elena Drymiotou Dr Christos Papastylianos Dr Konstantinos Dimarellis Adjunct Faculty (Public Law) Associate Professor, Head of Lecturer (Labour Law) Dr Soterios Loizou the Department of Law (Public Law) Dr Antonios Stylianou Adjunct Faculty (Commercial Law) Dr Giorgos Kentas Lecturer (International Law) Dr Kalliopi Mitka Associate Professor (International Relations, Dr Evi Eftychiou Adjunct Faculty (Commercial Law) Public Administration), Co-ordinator of the MA Lecturer (Sociology and Anthropology of Law) Dr Maria Kyprianou programme in Public Administration Dr Dimitrios Koukiades Adjunct Faculty (Criminal Studies) Dr Demetra Sorvatzioti Lecturer (Comparative Law, AI and Law) Vasos Georgiou Associate Professor, Associate Head of Adjunct Faculty (Sports Law, the Department of Law (Criminal Sciences) Dr Giorgos Tsaousis Lecturer (Public Law, Public Administration) Public Administration) Dr Costas Stratilatis Charalambos Artemis Associate Professor (Public Law) Dr Konstantinos Rokas Lecturer (Private International Law) Adjunct Faculty (Private Law) Dr Stavroulla Soukara Agis Georgiades Associate Professor (Judicial Psychology) Dr Nikolaos Davrados Visiting Associate Professor Adjunct Faculty (Procedural Law, ADR) Dr Theodoros Tsakiris (Private International Law, Private Law) Theognosia Kouspi Associate Professor (Energy Security, Geopolitics) Dr Maria Hadjiathanasiou Adjunct Faculty (Public Law) Dr Nikos Koumoutzis Marie Curie Fellow (History) Despina Hadjidemetri Associate Professor (Private Law) Dr Ioannis Kastanas Adjunct Faculty (Private Law) Dr Odysseas Christou Post-Doctoral Research Associate Georgia Parpa Assistant Professor (Government, Energy and (Public Law, Ecclesiastical Law) Adjunct Faculty (EU Law) Environmental Law), Co-ordinator of the Joint PhD programme in Human Rights, Society and Multi- Dr Andreas Kirlappos Dr Eleni Karamanakou Adjunct Faculty (Finance and Credit Law) Level Governance offered with the Universities of Research Associate (Public Administration) Padova, Zagreb and Western Sydney Dimitrios A. Kourtis Petros Konstantinidis Adjunct Faculty (Public Law) Dr Constantinos Adamides Research Associate (Public International Law) Assistant Professor, Associate Head of the Dr Despina Kyprianou Andreas Christou Department of Politics and Governance Adjunct Faculty (Criminal Law) Adjunct Faculty (Criminal Studies) (International Relations) Dr Katerina Papanicolaou Nataly Papandreou Dr Michalis Kontos Adjunct Faculty (Public Law, Adjunct Faculty (Private Law) Assistant Professor (International Law, Public Administration) Petros Petrikkos International Relations), Co-ordinator of the MA Dr Yiannis Rossides Research Associate (Politics) programme in International Relations and Eastern Adjunct Faculty (Pubic Administration) Mediterranean Studies Dr Andreas Karyos Dr Anna Plevri Adjunct Faculty (History) Assistant Professor (Private and Procedural Law) 3 UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA 4 SCHOOL OF LAW HIGHLIGHTS Department of Law, LLB, LLM and PhD re-accredited The Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (DIPAE), i.e. the Cyprus national accreditation agency for universities, appointed external committees composed of academics from prominent European universities, practitioners and students, which evaluated between September-October 2020 the Department of Law and its LLB, LLM and PhD programmes. Following a rigorous evaluation, the Department and its programmes received extremely positive feedback and scores and have all been re-accredited by DIPAE for a new five-year period. The School of Law considers the extremely positive evaluation by external committees composed of their peers and appointed by an independent accreditation authority as a sign of recognition of their work. All reports of the