CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyriacos Scordis, Alexandros Gavrielides, Chara Pieri and Demetris Yiannakou, Scordis, Papapetrou & Co LLC
est of the security of the Republic, the constitutional order, public order, the public safety or public morals, or where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require as well as in special circumstances where, in the opinion of the court, publicity would prejudice the interests of justice. Documents filed in court are not available to the pub- lic and are generally only available to the parties to the proceedings. However, a third party may apply to the court for permission to inspect the court’s file of particular civil proceedings and obtain copies of documents and may be granted such permission, on such terms as the court deems fit, upon showing a legitimate interest. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Legal representatives may appear before the courts of Cyprus only if they have completed a 12-month pupillage at the office of an advocate or at the office of the Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus, and are duly registered members of the Cyprus Bar Association. Lawyers from other European Union member states have the right to appear before the courts of Cyprus provided that: • are duly registered as European Union lawyers in Cyprus; and • appear jointly with a Cyprus-qualified lawyer. Lawyers from other countries may be permitted to represent clients in Cyprus on an ad hoc basis, pro- vided they obtain special permission from the Cyprus Bar Association and act jointly with a Cyprus-qualified lawyer.
provision prohibiting third-party litigation funding in Cyprus, decided that third-party litigation funding is not contrary to public policy. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits There are no provisions limiting the availability of third- party funding to specific lawsuits. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant There are no provisions limiting the availability of third- party funding to the claimant. 2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding Given that there are no provisions governing third- party funding, there are no minimum or maximum amounts that a third-party funder may fund. 2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third- Party Funding There are no provisions limiting the types of costs which a third-party funder may fund. 2.6 Contingency Fees Contingency fees are not permitted in Cyprus. This has been confirmed by two first-instance decisions, in which the courts held that the provisions of the Advocate’s Code of Conduct preclude contingency fee arrangements. There have been calls to amend the Advocate’s Code of Conduct to permit contingency fees, and the matter is currently under consideration. 2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding There is no legislative provision limiting the period within which a party to the litigation should obtain third-party funding.
2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding
3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-Action Conduct
It is unclear whether third-party litigation funding is permitted in Cyprus as there is no specific legisla- tion governing the issue and this matter has not been determined conclusively by the Cypriot courts. There is only one first instance decision where the Court, taking into account that there is no legislative
The new Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), which entered into force in 2023, provide for certain “pre-action pro- tocols” which are generally required to be followed in all types of claims before legal proceedings are com-
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