Criton Tornaritis (1902-1997) is one of the most important Cypriot legal scientist. He has served the Cypriot legal system as a lawyer, a Judge and the first (and longest serving) Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus.

He was born in Limassol, studied law at the University of Athens and worked as a lawyer from 1924 until 1940. In 1940 he was appointed as a Judge for the District Court of Nicosia, and later as a President Judge. In 1952 he was appointed as the first Attorney General and under this capacity he succeeded in many important accomplishments. He gathered and prepared the Acts of Law that were valid in Cyprus during the British colonial era and were retained in force with the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, forming the backbone of the Cypriot legal system.

Further, he participated as a legal advisor to the ad hoc constitutional committee which completed the Constitution of the Republic, which received legal validity through the London and Zurich Agreements. With the proclamation of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, Criton Tornaritis continued to serve as the Attorney General of the Republic until 1984. For these reasons, he has been described as the ‘architect of the Cypriot legal system’. This title seems especially fair when taking in mind the significant volume of books, articles and opinions he authored, which formed the basis of the Cypriot legal bibliography.