CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyriacos Scordis, Alexandros Gavrielides, Chara Pieri and Demetris Yiannakou, Scordis, Papapetrou & Co LLC
4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe The timeframe for a court to deal with an applica- tion can vary significantly depending on the nature of the application, the specific circumstances sur- rounding each case, and the workload and efficiency of the judge. Generally speaking, applications made with notice in the context of civil proceedings may take three to eight months, or possibly longer, to be determined. In cases of genuine urgency, a party may file an appli- cation on an ex parte basis, without notifying the other party. Such applications are usually dealt with within a few working days from the date of filing. The CPR make a distinction between “General Dis- closure” (covering documents on which the disclosing party intends to rely or which are necessary to enable the other parties to understand the disclosing party’s case) and “Specific Disclosure” (covering documents which are in the possession or control of the disclos- ing party and which may support or adversely affect the case of any other party). All parties to claims in excess of EUR10,000 must pro- vide a “General Disclosure” at least 14 days before the case is fixed for a case management conference by filing a statement of witness in accordance with the specific form provided in the CPRs and serve a copy thereof together with copies of the disclosed docu- ments to the other parties. Except if the court gives other directions, a party may provide “Supplementary General Disclosure” at any time but no later than six months before the case is fixed for hearing. The par- ties cannot submit as evidence any document which 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases A party may file an application to the court requesting a Special Disclosure Order against a person who is not a party to the proceedings. Such application shall provide sufficient details/description of the requested document(s) or the specific category of documents and shall be supported by evidence stating the rea- they failed to disclose and produce. 5.2 Discovery and Third Parties
• applications for the issuance of a summary judg- ment or judgment on the basis of admissions; • applications for the dismissal of the action for want of prosecution; and • applications to strike out the other party’s case. 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit Interested parties not named as a claimant or defend- ant may join a lawsuit if: • the joinder of such parties is desirable in order for the court to be able to determine all matters in dispute between all affected parties; or • there is an issue between the interested party and a party to the proceedings, which is closely con- nected with the matters in dispute, and the joinder of the interested party is desirable in order for the court to be able to determine this issue. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs A defendant (or a claimant in a counterclaim) may apply for an order ordering the provision of security for costs by the claimant in order to ensure that it will be able to recover the litigation costs from the unsuc- cessful party. An order ordering the provision of security for costs will only be granted if the claimant is not ordinarily resident in Cyprus or another EU member state and there is a genuine concern that the defendant will be unable to enforce a costs order made in their favour. The provisions of the treaties on judicial co-operation between Cyprus and certain non-EU states, includ- ing Ukraine and the Russian Federation, also impose specific limitations on the power of the Cypriot courts to order citizens of such states to provide security for costs. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions Cypriot courts have broad discretion in awarding costs associated with interim applications. The general rule is that the costs will be awarded in favour of the suc- cessful party and against the unsuccessful party.
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