CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyriacos Scordis, Alexandros Gavrielides, Chara Pieri and Demetris Yiannakou, Scordis, Papapetrou & Co LLC
Court of Appeal on civil and criminal law matters which raise novel legal issues of wider public importance or with respect to which there are conflicting judgments of the Court of Appeal as well as exclusive jurisdiction to issue preroga- tive writs (habeas corpus, certiorari, prohibition, mandamus and quo warranto). The length of time between commencement of proceedings and trial varies considerably depending, inter alia, on the nature of the pro- ceedings, the District Court in which the pro- ceedings are commenced and the workload of the particular judge to whom the proceedings are assigned. The level of backlogs in litigious civil and commercial cases is quite high and often results in serious delays in the process- ing of cases. On average the period between commencement of proceedings and trial at first instance is currently around five years. One of the main aims of the recent overhaul of the Cypriot court system, which includes, among other things, the introduction of the New Civil Procedure Rules, the establishment of new specialised courts, the introduction of measures to deal with “backlog” cases and the introduc- tion of an electronic filing and case management system, is to deal with the perennial problem of delays in the processing of civil and commer- cial cases. It is hoped and expected that these measures in combination with the determined efforts to promote a radical change in litigation culture will gradually lead to a significant reduc- tion of the length of time between commence- ment of proceedings and trial. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings Article 30 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, which entrenches the right of every per- son to a public hearing, provides that the public may be excluded from all or any part of court
proceedings upon a decision of the court where it is in the interest 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 cir- cumstances where, in the opinion of the court, publicity would prejudice the interests of justice. Documents filed at court are not available to the public and are generally only available to the par- ties 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 grant- ed 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 advo- cate 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 EU member states have the right to appear before the courts of Cyprus provided that they (i) are duly registered as EU lawyers in Cyprus and (ii) appear jointly with a Cyprus-qualified lawyer. Lawyers from other countries may be permit- ted to represent clients in Cyprus on an ad hoc basis upon obtaining special permission from the Cyprus Bar Association and subject to act- ing jointly with a Cyprus-qualified lawyer.
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