OUR CIVIL SOCIETY – Part II
As a matter of vogue, some speakers very often pay lip service to civil society in an abstract and undefined manner in the current decade. Their rhetoric is duly appreciated as benevolent, while at the same time this is far from being sincere. We know, civil society relies on civil law and civil law unequivocally protects civil rights. This logical necessity leaves much to be wanted in Cyprus as civil rights do not exist without their bearers.
One of the most important premises of civil law is the existence of natural or legal persons who are subjects of these rights and obligations. A reference to abstract and undefined human rights without the concrete participants of civil society is misleading.
The most recent violations of civil rights escalated in the period 1955-1975 and form the basis of continuous and unresolved disputes between the Greek and the Turkish community. These disputes have created a havoc of uncertainty undermining the security of law and of substantive justice in Cyprus. This outcome is exactly the opposite of the norms worthy of the name of civil society.
The charm of civil law lies in its perfection and orderliness as far as these have been preserved throughout the three last millennia despite the violent and severe mutations inflicted in the course of history. Ethnic Greeks honoured Goddess Athena as the giver of the goods of wisdom, intelligence and of the creative arts. She dwelled on Acropolis, because with her wisdom she founded civil society.
Many civil societies survive without paying head to a long forgotten Goddess, but it is hard to think of a civil society without civil rights. This touches the outermost point of ignorance and fallacy. Some of the most salient civil law violations in Cyprus concern the protection of personality, the autonomy of private will, the contract of compromise, life, liberty and property protected by public order rules.
Nevertheless, private will is not allowed to exclude the implementation of public order rules. Moreover, a provision of an alien public order cannot be applied when such provision contravenes domestic public order or moral norms; for more details, please see paragraph 3.2 in my digital e-book “POLITY AND CYPRUS – The Chain Store Paradox” ISBN 978-9963-9630-8-9.
In a post-crisis era such as we have witnessed and are still witnessing in the present year 2014, civil society has been drawn farther apart from our reach as more and more persons realize the grip of utter poverty and helplessness. Adverse circumstances seem to grow much faster around us than the ability of our mind to cope with.
My foresight and admonishing voice saying “DEVELOP YOUR POWER OF THOUGHT – 50 Steps for a Successful Mind Control Mindset” have been too weak to get attention by over worn and outwitted readers to whom it was addressed; for more details, please see on Amazon [dot] com, ISBN 978 9963 -9630–3–4.