Cyprus is home to approximately a million people, but it is also an important producer of ships, a tourist destination, and a financial services hub. It has historical ties to Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and is a member of the European Union. Its unique and outsized role in international commerce makes it a natural forum for commercial disputes. So I am so grateful that I was able to speak with Angelos G. Paphitis, the managing partner at AGP Law in Limassol, Cyprus, to learn more about litigation in his country.

Why should you continue reading this post about litigation in Cyprus?

You lost a fortune in the 2012-2013 Cypriot financial crisis and want to know what you could have done if you timely sued someone.
You are so opposed to jury duty that you want to find a jurisdiction where it does not exist.
You want to read about a European common law jurisdiction that isn’t the UK or Ireland.

Angelos G. Paphitis is the managing partner at AGP Law in Limassol, Cyprus.

Can you tell me about the kinds of disputes you handle in your legal practice?

In my twenty-year career as litigator, I have handled all kinds and types of cases. For the past 7-9 years, I have been mostly involved with corporate and commercial disputes where breach of contract, fraud, torts, or negligence are involved.

I am also very much involved in forex fraud and forex scam cases, representing mostly group clients against international brokers. Furthermore, I am very much involved in urgent situations where ex-parte (without notice) interim orders and interlocutory injunctions are in need, such as mareva injunctions (prohibitory orders) and freezing orders, but also Norwich Pharmacal and Anton Piller orders.

What type of clients do you generally represent in disputes?

I mostly represent large organizations and banks, but also family offices, entrepreneurs, and high net worth individuals. However, private companies often engage me and our firm for all sort of matters.

Besides Microsoft Office, what software do you use in your practice?

Apart from our internal case management system, I mostly use Microsoft Office and also Microsoft PowerPoint for presentation purposes.

What books and websites do you use for legal research?

I use a combination of legal text books, from Cyprus, the UK, India, and other commonwealth jurisdictions.

I particularly prefer the Common Law library (such as Bullen & Leake & Jacob's Precedents of Pleadings, Goff & Jones: The Law of Unjust Enrichment, Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability, Benjamin's Sale of Goods, Bowstead & Reynolds on Agency, Charlesworth & Percy on Negligence and Clerk & Lindsell on Torts) but also Sweet & Maxwell text books especially Palmer’s Company law.

In terms of websites, Practical Law seems to be the most useful one at the moment.

Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Cyprus#/media/File:Cyprus_Supreme_Court_buildings_junction_next_to_Parliament_Nicosia_Republic_of_Cyprus.jpg

I understand that multiple languages are spoken in Cyprus and that the country has two official languages. What languages are court proceedings in and what language do judges write decisions in?

The Republic of Cyprus has two official languages by its constitution, Greek and Turkish. However, the Turkish language is not used in the Republic, nor in its courts. To date, Greek is the only language used in courts in Cyprus, although most judges do accept affidavits in the English language, too.

Now, it will be possible to use English in court proceedings, but this will apply only for the Commercial Court.

Do you electronically file pleadings with the court? Or must you send paper copies of them to the courthouse?

Since 2020, all pleadings are filed electronically; nothing is filed in paper copies apart from documents that are services to counter parties. Documents to be served are printed our through the official website and served through a bailiff.

You mentioned a commercial court where parties may file documents in English. What are those courts?

The 2022 reforms to the justice system include the establishment of a Commercial Court, which was approved in Parliament in May 2022.

The Commercial Court will be comprised of judges with experience in commercial matters. It will examine cases involving “commercial disputes” relating to claims over €2.000.000, but in addition, irrespective of the amount in dispute, the Commercial Court will have jurisdiction to also hear all matters relating to competition law, intellectual property, and arbitration.

It should also be noted that, in addition to the Commercial court, an Admiralty Court is also established and it will have exclusive jurisdiction to hear admiralty claims.

Who decides the facts in a commercial case? Is it a judge or a jury?

It is a judge; there is no jury service in Cyprus.

Generally speaking, how many pages are the complaints or initial pleadings you see in your work?

Pleadings (statement of claim, statement of defence, and reply to defence) must be short and must identify the case’s material facts and legal; I always try to avoid large and complicated pleadings and stick on the rule without any reference to evidence by which material facts are to be proved. However, ex-parte injunctions which I handle on a regular basis filed together with the legal action require detailed analysis of the case through the use of supporting affidavits followed by exhibits. Injunctions can be quite extensive in length with extensive details in evidence analysed through the affidavits in support of such petitions for injunctions; such petitions start from 30/40 pages and go up to 100 or even 200 pages. In terms of size, injunctions, together with exhibits in support, can be very large, from one box file to tens of box files

Generally speaking, how long does it take for a case to go from complaint to judgment?

Unfortunately the past years in Cyprus have created excessive delays in court and measures have been taken to speed up the justice system. Cases would take from 4 to 6 years, sometimes even more, to go to hearing however following a 2022 reform which includes the establishment of specialised courts, hiring additional judges and digitisation, is expected to speed up the process significantly with a minimum of 50% less time of what was the time needed prior to reform.

Generally speaking, how is evidence exchanged between the parties before trial? Do you get to interview the opposing witnesses before the trial?

We have pre-trial disclosure stage whereby parties must disclose in advance the documents that will be presented in Court during hearing; anything not disclosed may not be allowed to be presented in hearing. Furthermore, one can request from the other party inspection of documents prior to trial.

Lastly, all witnesses must be disclosed in advance. In addition, it is now common practice for judges to request parties to provide copies of their witness statements, in writing, few days before hearing, so that the cross-examining lawyer can be ready for cross-examination without going through examination in chief; this process saves significant court time.

If you win, does the other side reimburse your attorneys’ fees?

Yes. However reimbursement is done on the Cyprus Bar Association’s cost scale. Meaning therefore that many times when legal fees are charged on hourly rates then the reimbursement won’t be enough to cover the full legal costs of the winning party because Bar scales are generally lower than hourly rates.

Are the Cypriot courts open to the public? Can ordinary people watch a commercial trial?

Yes court hearings are open to public; unless it’s a closed doors case

Do you believe that Cypriot courts have a particular strength for resolving commercial disputes? How about a weakness? What are they?

Due to Cyprus being a business and financial centre for over three decades now with international cases tried in Cyprus throughout the years, Cyprus courts have gained significant experience in complex commercial (and corporate) disputes. Furthermore, Cyprus being a common law jurisdiction has a significant benefit from common law precedents applied all over the commonwealth, which is a significant advantage for the Cyprus courts as well as guarantee of predictability of court decisions.

The weakness would be the [lack of] use of English language which has not been overcome with the establishment of the commercial court.

How often do you go to the courthouse?

I go to court on a weekly basis almost.

When you are there, do you need to wear a special robe or wig?

Lawyers in Cyprus courts have to always be in dark colour suit and white shirt, with a tie. During hearings we must wear a barristers gown and bands (no wig). However, during summer months the courts give an exception to the rule and hearings take place without the requirement of wearing a gown.

Litigation in Cyprus