CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyriacos Scordis, Alexandros Gavrielides, Chara Pieri and Demetris Yiannakou, Scordis, Papapetrou & Co LLC
(such as a loan agreement) or the court other- wise orders. Interest continues to accrue until the final repayment of the judgment debt. Under Cyprus law the rate of legal interest is fixed by a decree of the Minister of Finance and the cur- rent rate is 5.5%. It should be noted that there are statutory provisions which regulate a party’s entitlement to interest in relation to specific kinds of debt. For example, the Suppression of Pay- ment Delays in Commercial Transactions Law provides that a party who sells good or provides services is entitled to interest on the amounts due to them accruing from the agreed time of payment at a rate equal to the main refinancing operations interest rate published by the Euro- pean Central Bank plus 8%. 9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment A Cypriot judgment can be enforced through the following execution measures: • writ of seizure and sale of the debtor’s mov- able property; • sale of the debtor’s immovable property; • charging order over bonds or corporate shares or units in trusts held by the debtor followed by an order for the sale of such assets; • writ of attachment against third parties (including banks) which have in their posses- sion movable or immovable property which belongs to the debtor; and • an order for examination of the debtor regard- ing their assets followed by an order for the payment of the judgment debt by monthly instalments. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country The procedure for enforcing foreign judgments in Cyprus depends on where the foreign judg-
ment was given. Judgments given in civil and commercial matters by the courts of EU member states or the courts of Norway, Switzerland and Iceland are enforceable in Cyprus pursuant to the provisions of the Recast Brussels I Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012) and the Lugano Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments. Furthermore, the Republic of Cyprus is a party to a number of bilateral treaties for the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments. Judgments originat- ing from such countries may be recognised and enforced in Cyprus in accordance with the pro- cedure and subject to the exceptions and quali- fications stipulated in the relevant treaty. Judg- ments given in certain Commonwealth countries in civil matters are enforceable in Cyprus pursu- ant to the provisions of the Mutual Recognition of Certain Judgments of the Courts of Common- wealth Countries Law, Cap. 10. Notwithstanding Brexit, judgments given in the United Kingdom continue to be enforceable in Cyprus pursuant to the provisions of this Law. Final and conclusive judgments, for a definite sum given by a court having jurisdiction in a country other than those mentioned above, may be enforced in Cyprus by bringing an action at common law on the basis of the foreign judgment. 10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation All first instance judgments can be appealed as of right by filing an appeal in the (new) Court of Appeal. Judgments of the Court of Appeal may be appealed by filing an appeal in the Supreme Constitutional Court (in cases of judgments on appeals against decisions of the Administrative Court or the International Protection Court) or in the (new) Supreme Court (in all other cases).
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