CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyriacos Scordis, Alexandros Gavrielides, Chara Pieri and Demetris Yiannakou, Scordis, Papapetrou & Co LLC
7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases Jury trials are not available in Cyprus. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence The general rules governing admissibility of evi- dence are that the evidence adduced before the court should be relevant to the matters in dispute and that the parties should present the best available evidence. Hearsay evidence is admissible in Cyprus and it is up to the court to assess its probative value and reliability. Evi- dence obtained in violation of the provisions of the Constitution (including the provisions pro- tecting human rights) will not be admitted under any circumstances. If the illegality of the manner in which evidence is obtained does not involve a violation of the provisions of the Constitution, the court has a discretion to admit or exclude the evidence depending, among other things, on the circumstances and the seriousness of the illegality. The CPR provide that the court has the power to control the evidence adduced by giving direc- tions in relation to the issues that the evidence should cover, the nature of the evidence which is required in order to consider the matters in ques- tion, and the way in which such evidence will be put before the court. The court also has the power to exclude evidence and limit the cross- examination. 7.5 Expert Testimony The CPR provide that expert evidence can only be adduced with the court’s permission, which is to be given only if the court is persuaded that the evidence proposed to be adduced will assist the court and that the granting of permission to adduce such evidence would be consistent with the “overriding objective”. The court has also
cross-examination. Proceedings commenced by a “Part 8 Claim Form” will, as a rule, be deter- mined on the basis of the written evidence accompanying the claim form and the opposi- tion respectively subject to the court’s power to order the attendance of a witness for cross- examination (which is expected to be exercised sparingly). 7.2 Case Management Hearings The CPR include specific provisions in relation to case management for both interim applications and the main proceedings. Interim applications are fixed by the Court Reg- istry for a “procedural directions hearing” in the course of which the court sets out the timetable for the trial of the application and deadlines for the filing of the opposition, any supplementary affidavits, any cross-examination application and the written submissions of the parties. As regards the main proceedings, the parties are required to file a questionnaire within 28 from the date that the pleadings considered to be closed and the case will be fixed before the judge for “preliminary case management”. At this stage the court will classify the claim as small claim (under EUR10,000) or ordinary claim (above EUR10,000). A claim classified as ordinary is then fixed for a “case management hearing” in the course of which the court gives directions and sets out the timetable for the filing of document disclo- sure affidavits, production of documents and exchange of witness statements and supple- mentary witness statements. In addition, the court determines whether any matter or matters should be determined as a preliminary matter before trial and fixes a “preliminary hearing” date as well as dates for the main trial.
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