CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyriacos Scordis and Sofi Mylona, SCORDIS PAPAPETROU & Co LLC
5.7 Sister-Ship Arrest Cyprus law permits the arrest of a ship other than one in respect of which the claim arose in certain circum - stances. Specifically, Section 3 (4) of the English Administra - tion of Justice Act 1956 allows a claimant to invoke the admiralty jurisdiction of the Supreme Court by an action in rem and to obtain a warrant of arrest in respect of certain claims, either: • against the vessel in connection with which the claim arose, provided that the beneficial owner of that vessel at the time the action is brought is the person who is personally liable to the claimant in respect of the claim, as owner or charterer of the vessel; or • against any other ship that is beneficially owned by that owner or charterer. 5.8 Other Ways of Obtaining Attachment Orders Apart from a formal arrest, when it is not possible to file an admiralty action in rem against a vessel, Arti - cle 32 of the Courts of Justice Law, Law 14 of 1960, empowers the courts to make interim orders to pro - tect assets that may be at risk of alienation or in order to preserve a particular status quo pending the final determination of an action, provided that the following conditions are all satisfied: • a serious question arises to be tried at the hearing; • there appears to be a “probability” that the plaintiff is entitled to relief; and • it would be difficult or impossible to carry out complete justice at a later stage unless an order is made. Interim measures include freezing orders with domes - tic or worldwide effect and “Chabra” type orders. Thus, a vessel may be effectually detained by the issu - ance of a freezing order in the context of the main action in the civil courts instituted against the owner. Furthermore, Section 30 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships, Sales and Mortgages) Law (Law 45/63) provides that the Supreme Court may, on the application of any interested person and if the
It has now been established that the plaintiff is required to make full and frank disclosure of all the material facts of the case that may influence the judgment of the court. The claimant is best advised to engage the services of and be represented by a local lawyer. A power of attorney or other form of written authority may not be required by the court or the local lawyer, in the case of a foreign litigant. A retainer in writing in the form pro - vided by the Cyprus Civil Procedure Rules is required in the case of a local plaintiff. The documents supporting the claim may not be notarised or apostilled. However, they must be in a language that is understood by the court; otherwise, they must be officially translated into Greek. Where possible, original documentation should be provided, although the court may order an arrest even if some original documentation is not available. The court follows the practice of requiring the arrest - ing party to put up security for the issuance of a war - rant of arrest. The amount of security ordered varies, and usually depends on the particular judge dealing with the case, the nature of the claim made in the action in which the arrest is ordered, and the extent of that claim. 5.6 Arresting Bunkers and Freight It is not possible to arrest bunkers themselves in Cyprus. Where the bunker supplier asserts its claim on the basis of a retention of title, this does not give rise to arrest as it is not a maritime claim under Section 1 (1) of the English Administration of Justice Act 1956. However, retention of title clauses in contracts may be difficult to enforce and are unlikely to be enforced where the bunkers have already been used or have been mixed with others. Even if such a claim could be effective, it would require an injunction to detain the vessel until the bunkers were returned. Also, it is not possible to arrest freight itself, except perhaps in the case of freight at risk, by arresting the cargo in respect of which the freight is due.
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