Leto Cariolou
Leto Cariolou
- International human rights law
- International, International criminal & humanitarian law
- Media Law
- Inquests & Public Inquiries
+357 99 650 159
Leto@pieterscariolou.com
+357 99 650 159
Leto@pieterscariolou.com
- International human rights law
- International, International criminal & humanitarian law
- Media Law
- Inquests & Public Inquiries
Professional memberships
- Admitted to the ICC List of Counsel;
- Admitted to the Lists of Defence Counsel and Victims’ Counsel of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers;
- Member of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales;
- Member of the International Criminal Court Bar Association;
- Board of Directors, European Human Rights Law Institute;
- Listed as “Expert in Human Rights” for the OSCE;
- Listed as expert for Council of Europe criminal reform projects.
Qualifications
- Call 2003 (Cyprus); Call 2007 (England & Wales)
- LLB (King’s College London);
- LLM in Public International Law (University College London);
- MA in Legal and Political Theory (University College London).
International human rights law
Leto has substantial experience in representing applicants before the European Court of Human Rights at all stages of the proceedings, including Grand Chamber hearings. She has worked on a vast variety of issues arising under the Convention.
Recently, she represented Makarios Drousiotis, a Cypriot journalist found liable for defamation in respect of an article criticizing the Cypriot government and former deputy Attorney General of Cyprus. The case was communicated and is currently pending before the Court.
She represented the Hudorovic and Novak families who live in informal Roma settlements in Slovenia and complained of a violation of their right to access water. The applicants issued proceedings in Strasbourg against the Slovenian government complaining of a violation of Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention on account of the lack of safe drinking water and poor sanitation at their settlement as well as a violation of Article 14 due to the systemic inequality they suffer as a result of being members of the Roma community. The Court recognized for the first time that persistent lack of access to safe water may engage the State’s positive obligations under Article 8 of the Convention.
Leto advised a Turkish Cypriot conscientious objector who was convicted by the Turkish authorities for failing to serve in the reservist service of their armed forces in proceedings in Strasbourg complaining of a violation of his rights under Articles 9, 13, and 14 of the Convention. The case was communicated and is currently pending before the Court.
She represents a number of Greek Cypriots challenging the continuing violation of their rights to property and peaceful enjoyment of their homes situated in the northern part of Cyprus as a result of the Turkish invasion of 1974. She also represented the families of persons who went missing after being captured by Turkish forces in Cyprus in 1974.
She represented Kafkaris in proceedings before the Cypriot Supreme Court and subsequently in Strasbourg challenging the lawfulness of the imposition under Cypriot law of mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The Grand Chamber of the Court found that there had been a violation of Article 7 of the Convention.
She represented Azinas in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights against the Republic of Cyprus. Azinas complained of a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 in relation to his dismissal from the Cypriot public service and the consequent forfeiture of his pension rights. The Chamber judgment found that the applicant had acquired a right to a pension when entering the public service in Cyprus, which right constituted a “possession” for the purposes of the Convention. The Grand Chamber subsequently denied jurisdiction over the case.
Leto also advised the Cypriot government with regard to the High-Level Conferences on the future of the European Court of Human Rights in 2011 and 2012.
International criminal & humanitarian law
Leto has worked on a number of high-profile cases at various international criminal tribunals.
Most recently, she was appointed legal adviser to the defence team of Mr Pjeter Shala who is charged with war crimes before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. Previously she acted as legal adviser to the defence team representing the interests of Mr Salim Ayyash who was facing a trial in absentia before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague in relation to terrorism offences.
Leto advised the Appeals Chamber of the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals in a number of cases including the appeal proceedings in the cases of Radovan Karadžić, Augustin Ngirabatware, Uwinkindi as well as various contempt proceedings.
Leto also assisted the Trial Chamber of the ICTY in the trials of Ratko Mladić and Stanišić & Simatović.
Furthermore, she advises an international NGO, which seeks the restitution of art and cultural goods looted during armed conflicts.
Media Law
Leto accepts instructions in libel proceedings in Cyprus for both plaintiffs as well as defendants. She regularly gives pre-publication advice on a number of areas of media law, including defamation, privacy, and whistleblowing protection.
In Strasbourg, she represented Makarios Drousiotis, a Cypriot journalist found liable for defamation in respect of an article criticizing the Cypriot government and a former deputy Attorney General of Cyprus. The case was communicated and is currently pending before the Court.
Inquests & public inquiries
Leto advised the investigating judge appointed by the President of the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals to conduct the investigation into the circumstances of death of a detainee at the UN Detention Unit in The Hague and report on the findings of the investigation to the UN Security Council. She also represented the family of a victim for the purposes of a Coroner’s Inquiry before the District Court of Limassol.
Selected Publications
Book chapters:
- ‘Circumnavigating the Conflict Between the Right to Reputation and the Right to Freedom of Expression’ in E. Brems and S. Smet (eds), When Human Rights Clash at the European Court of Human Rights (OUP, 2017);
- ‘The Applicability of the European Convention of Human Rights in Situations of Effective Control over Another State’s Internationally Recognised Territory’, in Protection of Human Rights in Administrative Proceedings: Developments in the Ukraine (Kiev, 2015) (in Ukrainian);
- ‘Two Variations on a Theme: Privacy and Reputation’, in J. Casadevall et al. (eds), Mélanges en l’honneur de Dean Spielmann (Wolf Legal Publishers, October 2015);
- ‘Protection of Reputation under the European Convention of Human Rights’ (with D. Spielmann), in D. Spielmann, M. Tsirli and P. Voyatzis (eds.), The European Convention on Human Rights, A Living Instrument (Brussels, Bruylant, 2011);
- ‘The search for an equilibrium undertaken by the European Court of Human Rights’, in E. Brems (ed.), Conflicts Between Fundamental Rights (Intersentia, 2008);
- ‘The right to reputation’ (with D. Spielmann), in Law in the Changing Europe: Liber Amicorum Pranas Kuris (Mykolo Romerio Universitetas, 2008);
- ‘Article 47 – Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial’, in Commentary of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU by EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights(June 2006).
Journal articles and informational notes:
- ‘The Developing Law of Privacy and the Limits to the Public Interest Defence: The Grand Chamber Judgment in Couderc and Hachette Filipacchi Associés v France’, Media Law Journal (2016).
- ‘Advancing the Court’s Remedial Competence and Complementary Role in the Field of Execution: The Cyprus v Turkey (Just Satisfaction) Judgment’, Cyprus Human Rights Law Review, Vol. 3 (2014);
- ‘Salduz and the Right to Legal Assistance – Report on NJCM Conference’, Nederlands Tijdscrhift voor de Mensenrechten, Vol. 38, No. 1 (2013);
- ‘Recent case-law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning minorities’, European Yearbook of Minority Issues ,Vol. 6 (2006/2007) and Vol. 7 (2007/2008);
- ‘The right not to be offended by members of the British National Party: An analysis of Serco Ltd v Redfearn in the light of the European Convention of Human Rights’, Industrial Law Journal, Vol. 35, No. 4 (December 2006).