CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Agathi Zervou and Maya Athanatou, George Z. Georgiou & Associates LLC
cal orders, where a third party has become involved, even innocently, in wrongdoing and holds information necessary to identify the wrongdoer or trace assets. It should be noted that any material obtained pursuant to such an order may be used only for the purposes of the specific proceedings, or in accordance with the terms of the court’s order, and cannot be used for any collateral or ulterior purpose without the court’s permission. The court may also grant injunctions against third parties in aid of enforcement or execution of a judg - ment. This might include an injunction granted directly against a third party with an ancillary disclosure order. 2.4 Procedural Orders It is possible to seek interim injunctions such as those described in the previous sections, on a without notice (ex parte) basis in appropriate circumstances or when seeking urgent interim relief. CPR Rule 23.6 provides that an application may be made without serving an application notice: • in cases of urgency or other exceptional circum - stances; • by consent of all parties; • with the permission of the court; • where the overriding objective is best furthered by doing so; and • where this is permitted by law, rule or a court order. In practice, without notice applications are most commonly sought where there is a real risk that if the defendant is notified in advance, they may take steps to frustrate the administration of justice, for example by dissipating assets, concealing information or oth - erwise interfering with evidence. An application without notice must be supported by evidence explaining the reasons why the relief sought should be granted and the reasons why notice was not given. The applicant is subject to a strict duty of full and frank disclosure, requiring disclosure of all material facts, including those adverse to their case and those that would have been discovered through reasonable enquiries.
A cross-undertaking in damages is also required to compensate the respondent if it is subsequently determined that the applicant was not entitled to the relief granted by the court. If the court considers that the application should not have been made without notice, it may either dismiss the application or adjourn it so that proper notice can be given to the other party. Alternatively, where the requested order is granted, this would usually be for a limited period. A return date has to be set for an inter partes hearing, at which the respondent may challenge the order, and the court will decide whether to continue, vary or discharge it. 2.5 Criminal Redress In Cyprus, fraud victims can pursue both criminal prosecution and civil claims simultaneously. The legal system generally permits criminal and civil proceed - ings to run in parallel, though courts retain discretion to intervene where they identify abuse of process, such as using parallel proceedings to oppress the opponent or gain improper tactical advantage. The criminal route is primarily state-driven, with investiga - tive agencies like MOKAS (the financial intelligence unit) identifying assets, while civil proceedings place the burden of asset identification and tracing on the claimant themselves through disclosure orders, expert services and investigation of public records. A key advantage of the civil route is the lower burden of proof required, with claimants needing to establish their case only on the balance of probabilities rather than the criminal standard. In practice, initiating criminal proceedings does not automatically delay civil claims. Evidence obtained during criminal investigations can generally be used in civil proceedings, subject to standard admissibil - ity rules and constitutional requirements. However, strategic considerations arise: victims may choose to wait for criminal investigations to progress before advancing civil claims to benefit from state-gathered evidence, or courts may exercise discretion to stay civil proceedings if they appear motivated by improp - er tactical considerations. Civil claimants also have access to remedies including damages, restitutionary awards and freezing orders to prevent asset dissipa -
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