CYPRUS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ioannis Economou, Eleftherios Economou, Michalis Zivanaris and Elli Economou, Economou & Co LLC
Cyprus company, and the judgment debt amount exceeds EUR5,000); or • injunctions encumbering the interest of the judg - ment debtor on shares and other stock owned (charging orders). Arbitral Awards The recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in Cyprus is governed by a framework of two important pieces of legislation. As a signatory to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”), Cyprus adopted Ratifying Law on the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1979 (Law 84/1979) which effectively transposed the provisions of the New York Convention into domestic legislation. The second piece of legislation is the International Commercial Arbitration Law of 1987 (Law 101/1987), which is modelled on the UNCITRAL Model Law. Pur - suant to Law 101/1987, international commercial arbi - tral awards can be recognised and registered regard - less of the country which issued them. Procedure for enforcement of arbitral awards The recognition and enforcement of foreign (non-EU) arbitral awards from jurisdictions with which Cyprus has a bilateral treaty for mutual recognition are gov - erned by Law 121 (I)/2000. The party seeking to reg - ister the arbitral award must file an application by summons. The respondent can file an objection, and the court will then issue its judgment regarding the registration of the award. Section 36 of Law 101/1987 outlines the grounds on which an arbitral award may be deemed non-enforceable. These include: • the subject matter of the dispute is not arbitrable under Cyprus law; and • the recognition or enforcement of the award would be contrary to the public policy of Cyprus. According to Section 21 of Law 101/1987, an arbitral award can be enforced with the court’s permission, in the same manner as a judicial decision or order. Gen - erally, Cyprus courts adopt a pro-enforcement stance.
The execution of an arbitral award for monetary claims may involve: • seizure and sale of movable property; • sale or charging of immovable property; • sequestration or attachment of property; • delivery orders for movable or immovable property; • examination of the judgment debtor in court; and/ or • filing of a winding-up petition related to the judg - ment debt. Refusal of recognition A Cyprus court can refuse the recognition and reg - istration of an international arbitral award only on the basis of the grounds stipulated in Article V of the New York Convention, as transposed in Law 84/1979, which are the following: • incapacity of the parties or invalidity of the arbitra - tion agreement; or • failure to give proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings to the party against whom the award is invoked, or that a party was otherwise unable to present their case; or • the award concerns a dispute not contemplated by or not falling within the scope of the arbitration agreement; or • the composition of the tribunal or the arbitration procedure was not according to the parties’ agree - ment or failing such agreement, was not according to the law of the country where the arbitration took place; or • the award has not yet become binding on the par - ties or has been set aside or suspended by a com - petent authority of the country in which, or under the law of which, that award was made. Commentary Cyprus plays a crucial role in the international legal landscape, particularly in the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. Cyprus law incorporates multiple instruments to facilitate the recognition and enforcement of for - eign judgments. The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Law (Cap 10), modelled on the English
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