CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Menelaos Kyprianou, Constantina Zantira, Andreas Lytras and Eleana Poulladou, Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC
7.4 Class Actions, Mass Claims and Arbitration
and (ii) specific disclosure, which may be sought for identified documents or narrowly defined categories of documents that are relevant and material to the issues in dispute, including documents adverse to a party’s case. The scope of disclosure is limited by the requirement of a “reasonable search”, taking into account: • proportionality, including the volume of documents; • the complexity of the case; The court retains broad case management powers to regulate disclosure, including refusing or limiting it on grounds such as lack of relevance, privilege, confiden- tiality or disproportionality. Failure to comply may lead to adverse inferences and the exclusion of undisclosed documents at trial. Documents disclosed are also subject to an implied undertaking that they may be used only for the pur- poses of the proceedings, unless the court orders otherwise or the disclosing party consents. 8.2 Privilege Cyprus law recognises several categories of privi- lege, largely reflecting common law principles. These include: • the cost and ease of retrieval; and • the importance of the documents. • legal professional privilege (covering confidential lawyer–client communications for the purpose of obtaining or giving legal advice); • litigation privilege (applying to documents created for the dominant purpose of litigation); and • without prejudice privilege (protecting genuine set- tlement discussions). Limited forms of public interest privilege may also arise. Documents covered by privilege may be with- held from disclosure and inspection, even if they are otherwise relevant. Privilege may be waived either expressly or impliedly. Express waiver occurs where a party voluntarily dis- closes privileged material. Implied waiver may arise where a party relies on the substance of privileged
Arbitration in Cyprus is governed by the Arbitration Law (Cap 4) and the International Commercial Arbitra- tion Law (Law 101/1987). These laws establish arbitra- tion as a consensual process typically involving two or more parties who have entered into an arbitration agreement, either as a standalone agreement or as a clause within a contract. While Cypriot arbitration law permits the participation of multiple parties where they are bound by the same arbitration agreement, it does not include any provisions addressing class or representative actions in arbitration proceedings. As a result, there is no established practice in Cyprus supporting the use of class actions or mass claims within arbitration proceedings. 7.5 Trends Overall, the landscape of class actions and mass claims in Cyprus is still developing, particularly fol- lowing the introduction of Law 91 (I)/2023, which ena- bles consumer collective actions. In addition, the Civil Procedure Rules provide for representative actions and the consolidation of similar claims in certain cir- cumstances, reflecting an increasing emphasis by the courts on efficiency and cost management. In summary, Cyprus is transitioning from a system with limited collective litigation to one characterised by a gradually evolving mass claims framework. Cyprus operates a structured disclosure regime under Order 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules, providing for both general and specific disclosure. There is a duty on each party to disclose documents which are or have been in their possession, custody or control, and on which they rely, or which are necessary for the proper understanding of their case. Disclosure is typically made by way of a witness statement accom- panied by a list of documents. Disclosure takes two forms: (i) general disclosure, which is mandatory and occurs at an early stage, 8. Evidence 8.1 Disclosure
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