CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyriacos Scordis, Alexandros Gavrielides, Chara Pieri and Demetris Yiannakou, Scordis, Papapetrou & Co LLC
commission of a wrong or the violation of the applicant’s rights in circumstances where an act amounting to a wrong or a violation of the applicant’s rights is threatened; • anti-suit injunctions restraining a person from commencing or continuing court proceedings in other jurisdictions (other than the courts of the EU member states); and • orders for the appointment of an interim receiver for the purpose of preserving assets. 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief Interim relief may be granted on an ex-parte basis in cases of urgency or where other special circumstances justify the granting of relief on an ex-parte basis. In practice, the courts consider ex parte applications for the issuance of interim orders within two or three working days from the date of its filing. There are no provisions or arrangements for out-of-hours judges. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis A party may apply for an injunctive relief on an ex parte basis in cases of urgency, in cases where there are other special circumstances justifying the granting of relief on an ex parte basis and in cases where the court considers that the over- riding objective of dealing with cases fairly and in an efficient and cost-effective manner would be served by granting relief on an ex parte basis. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant The court, when granting an interim order, may impose such terms as it considers appropriate in order to protect the rights and interests of the respondent, including requiring the applicant to provide security for any potential damages that the respondent may suffer as a result of the order being granted. The Cypriot courts nearly always
require the provision of such security when an injunction is granted on an ex parte basis. If the respondent successfully discharges the injunction and the court considers that there was no valid basis for seeking the injunction, the court may, upon an application filed by the respondent, order the payment to the respond- ent of reasonable compensation for the damage caused to them out of the security provided by the applicant. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief Cypriot courts have the power to grant injunctive relief against worldwide assets of the respond- ent. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Cypriot courts have the power to issue injunc- tive relief against third parties. Please refer to 6.1 Circumstances of Injunctive Relief . 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non-compliance If a respondent fails to comply with an injunc- tion, the court has the power to order the impris- onment of the respondent or impose a fine. In addition, non-compliance with an injunction may result in the court striking out a respondent’s defence enabling the claimant to obtain judg- ment in default.
7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
In proceedings commenced by a “Part 7 Claim Form”, evidence at trial must be given by means of written witness statements which must be submitted and served in advance. As a rule, the witnesses must then appear before the court for
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