Cyprus

Language of privacy

There is a clear concept of privacy within the legislation of the Republic of Cyprus as follows:

Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus of 1960 (as amended in 1989, 1996, 2002 and 2006)

Article 15 states that “every person has the right to respect of his private and family life”

Article 16 states that “every´s person dwelling house is inviolable” and that “there shall be no entry in any dwelling house or any search therein except when and as provided by law and on a judicial warrant duly reasoned or when the entry is made with the express consent of its occupant or for the purpose of rescuing the victims of any offence or violence or of any disaster”.

Article 17 states that “every person has the right to respect for, and to the secrecy of, his correspondence and other communication, if such communication is made through means not prohibited by law”.

Article 18 states that “every person has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”

The Safeguarding and Protection of Patients Rights Law of 2004, N. 1(I)/2005

Article 16 states that:

  1. There can be no intrusion into a patient’s private and family life, unless with the patient’s consent and if this is deemed necessary for his diagnosis, treatment or care.
  2. Health care shall only be provided with appropriate respect for the patient’s private life and shall, as a rule, be given in the presence only of those persons who are necessary for the provision of health care.
  3. A patient admitted to a medical institution shall be entitled to facilities or arrangements which ensure the protection of his privacy, particularly when the medical or nursing staff is providing personal care or carrying out medical tests or other treatment.

The Oviedo Convention as ratified by the Republic of Cyprus by the Ratification Law N 31 (III)/2001

Article 10 safeguards the right to private life and the right to information:

  1. Everyone has the right to respect for private life in relation to information about his or her health.
  2. Everyone is entitled to know any information collected about his or her health. However, the wishes of individuals not to be so informed shall be observed.
  3. In exceptional cases, restrictions may be placed by law on the exercise of the rights contained in paragraph 2 in the interests of the patient.

The Processing of Personal Data (Protection of Individuals) Law of 2001, N.138 (I) / 2001

Article 5 (1) states that personal data, meaning any information relating to a living data subject; may be processed only if the data subject has unambiguously given his consent.

General information on privacy, bio-banks and genetic databases

There has not been a project or a systematic survey aimed at assessing the attitudes or the understanding of Cypriots towards genetic issues or genetic data.

However, people involved with genetic research in Cyprus that involves human subjects have their personal views based on their experience:

  • Cypriots in general have always been positive in participating in genetic research projects and in sharing private information with the researchers. They feel they can share information especially when they have personal or family interests in dealing with familial cases and inherited conditions that may involve either themselves or their children
  • The provision of a signed informed consent form is nowadays a sine qua non condition for any research project in the health sciences
  • During large research projects that involve blood sampling from many family members, it has been very frequent to sample people who might not be involved themselves, however their sample would be necessary or very useful in reaching a safe result for another family member, that being a close or a distant relative.
  • Although all forms or data of biological nature are personal and sensitive data, somehow there is much sensitivity applied when coming to genetic data. Overwhelming hyper-significance is given when people are asked to participate in genetic research projects, so much that people get suspicious and less enthusiastic in taking part, even though all measures are taken for protection.