Public Consultations in Cyprus: A Comparative Analysis with Model Democracies

A comparative analysis of public consultations in Cyprus, United Kingdom and the European Union with the aim of refining the important and successful elements which could be most simply transplanted into the focus country, Cyprus. The article commenc-es with an analysis of the background on public consultations. Subsequently, it analyses the factors that should be considered when conducting public consultations with the view to gathering input from the public. The main part of the article consists of a comparative analysis of public consultations in Cyprus, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The article highlights that in Cyprus-unlike in the United Kingdom and the European Union-there is no institutionalised common practice for public consultations. Finally, it concludes that Cyprus should immediately take drastic steps, preferably by adopting a flexible framework like the one of the UK, whilst simultaneously incorporat-ing the general principles and minimum standards set out by the EU framework.