CYPRUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyriacos Scordis, Alexandros Gavrielides, Chara Pieri and Demetris Yiannakou, Scordis, Papapetrou & Co LLC
CPR also introduce the general principle that an ultimately successful litigant may (and indeed should) be ordered to bear or even pay to the unsuccessful litigant any proportion of the total costs that may be attributed to the successful litigant’s unreasonable or unjustified conduct before and/or during the proceedings. 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs When awarding costs, the courts may consid- er a number of factors, including the conduct of the parties before and during the proceed- ings, the complexity and/or novelty of the legal issues raised, the outcome of the proceedings and whether the successful party overstated its claim or otherwise caused unnecessary costs. 11.3 Interest Awarded on Costs Legal interest is awarded on cost. The rate of the legal interest is fixed by a decree of the Minister of Finance. The current rate is 5.5%. 12. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 12.1 Views of ADR Within the Country ADR methods, particularly arbitration and medi- ation, are beginning to be used more widely in recent years due to their advantages over tra- ditional litigation. Cypriot legal practitioners, professionals and businesses are constantly encouraging the use of ADR with the aim to shift the focus so as to align with international trends where ADR is seen as a valuable alternative to lengthy and costly court procedures. 12.2 ADR Within the Legal System The courts in Cyprus have repeatedly expressed support for ADR and encourage parties to con- sider arbitration and mediation before pursuing
litigation. A party cannot be compelled to pursue ADR or penalised for failing to do so but may be required to consider ADR; court proceedings may also be stayed for a reasonable period in order to enable the parties to make efforts to
settle the case by ADR. 12.3 ADR Institutions
Institutions offering and promoting ADR in Cyprus are generally well organised and actively contribute to the development of ADR mecha- nisms. Most of these institutions, including the Cyprus Arbitration and Mediation Centre and the Cyprus Eurasia Dispute Resolution and Arbitra- tion Centre, offer training programmes and cer- tification courses for arbitrators and mediators, and promote ADR through forums and seminars where global leading practitioners gather and share their valuable insights and views on mat- ters concerning ADR. 13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration In Cyprus, the conduct of arbitrations and the recognition of enforcement of arbitral awards are governed by the Arbitration Law, Cap. 4 (“Cap. 4”), which applies to arbitrations between Cyp- riot parties, and the International Commercial Arbitration Law 1987 (ICAL), which is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law and applies exclu- sively to international commercial arbitrations. 13.2 Subject Matters Not Referred to Arbitration Criminal matters, disputes with public policy implications and matters of personal status, such as divorce and disputes affecting minors, are considered non-arbitrable in Cyprus.
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