Supreme Court Confirms Sentencing Principles

Introduction

A recent criminal appeal¹ before the Supreme Court outlines the principles to be followed in sentencing offenders, particularly in terms of relating the sentence to the gravity of the offence. Kyriakos Tsivikou, together with his friend Asimoglou, had been convicted of "carrying arms to terrorise" under Section 80 of the Criminal Code, which provides that any person who carries any offensive arm or weapon in public in such a manner as to cause terror in any person is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for two years. Tsivikou was also convicted of common assault, contrary to Section 242 of the Criminal Code. A prison sentence of 45 days was imposed on Tsivikou and Asimoglou for the joint offence, plus 45 days on Tsivikou for common assault. Tsivikou initially appealed both the conviction and the sentence, but subsequently limited the appeal to the 45-day sentence, for both charges of bearing a weapon and common assault.