Gold Magazine December 2013 - January 2014, Issue 33 | Page 58

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Silence in Court!
Constantine Nicolaides regrets that not all lawyers and judges in Cyprus
possess the key virtues of patience and respect.
By John Vickers | Photography by Jo Michaelides

C

onstantine
Nicolaides
likes to joke
that when he
went to England to study law and subsequently qualified as a barrister,
he “overstayed his visit by 27
years”. That may be so but
the result is a man who feels
equally at home in London
as in Nicosia and who, since
his return to the country of
his birth, has been passionate
about justice, the system and
everything surrounding it.
Born in Agios Kassianos, Nicosia, he attended the
Pancyprian Gymnasium before undertaking 15 months’
military service (“those who
were going to study abroad
were allowed to leave earlier in
those days”) and then starting
that extended visit to the UK.
After being called to the bar
at Middle Temple, Nicolaides
worked for the civil service, in
the beginning as a prosecutor
for the Department of Transport in various magistrates’
courts up and down the country, though mainly in London.
He later married and had two
children there, both of whom
have followed in his professional footsteps, though he
insists that he didn’t force them to do so.
“My daughter is a solicitor working for
Lloyds TSB in London and my son is here in
Cyprus working with me. I didn’t push them
into following me into the profession – as
a father I wanted them to be successful and
happy in whatever profession they chose – but
I admit that I am glad they are both lawyers,”
he says.
Family considerations were what persuaded
him to return home. “We knew that Cyprus
was – and still is – a very safe place to raise
children,” he explains, “so we came back to
Nicosia and both children later attended the

When I win
I feel very glad
because I feel
I have done a
good job for
my client
English School since there was an understanding that they would study in the UK.”
Despite being Cypriot by birth and having
spent the first 19 years of his life on the island,

58 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

his return as a legal professional
was not without its problems
and even today, Constantine
Nicolaides admits to being less
than happy with the island’s legal
system.
“I was very lucky to meet people
who helped me – in particular the
former Attorney-General Alecos
Markides,” he recalls. “I did my
so-called pupillage at his office
and he entrusted me with a lot
of important cases and criminal
investigations. The truth is that I
would have liked to work in the
criminal sector in England but not
in Cyprus. It became clear to me
that if I did my job well there was
always the possibility of finding a
bomb under my car. I have had
my life threatened.”
He was actually warned off one
particular case by a police officer
who told him in no uncertain
terms that a certain person might
harm his family. Nicolaides decided to stand up to the blackmail.
“I am one of those people who
believe that you must never let
anyone threaten you,” he says
adamantly. “And so I told him to
inform those who had sent him
that they could put ten bombs under my car to make sure they finished me off. They never touched
me but they found other ways
of having me taken off the case.
Given that there are so many different areas of
practi