The Cyprus legal system has been subject to recent reforms to modernise its processes and offer efficient recourse to the courts in the dispute resolution process.

Steps had been taken in this direction, with the establishment of the Administrative Court in 2015 that helped to free up the Supreme Court's docket and the introduction of the iJustice online platform that streamlined the legal process and abandoned the time-consuming exercise of physical filings of claims. However, further reform was required to enhance expert knowledge and quality in delivering judgments in complex and specialised matters such as commercial disputes and admiralty.

To address the above, on 12 May 2022, the Cyprus parliament enacted the law on the Establishment and Operation of the Commercial and Admiralty Court of 2022, No. 69(Ι)/2022, as published at the Official Gazette on 2 June 2022, which established a Commercial and an Admiralty Court in Cyprus.

The Commercial Court will hear and adjudicate at first instance all new commercial disputes in value or amount in dispute above €2 million, concerning, among others, the following:

  • A commercial document or contract
  • Purchase, sale, import, or export of goods
  • Transportation of goods by land, air, or pipeline
  • Exploitation of oil, gas or other natural resources
  • Insurance and reinsurance
  • Operation of financial markets or exchange of stocks, shares or other financial or investment instruments or goods
  • Provision of services with the exception of medical, semi-medical and services or any services provided in the context of an employment agreement
  • Manufacture of vehicles
  • Commercial agency
  • Shareholders' disputes with regards to a legal entity that is supervised by any supervising authority in Cyprus (ie CYSEC, Central Bank of Cyprus, etc)

Irrespective of the value of the commercial dispute or amount in dispute, the Commercial Court will also hear and adjudicate any and all matters relating to competition law, intellectual property, and arbitration.

The Court will consist of five judges, appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council, who must have extensive knowledge in matters of commercial disputes, demonstrated experience in handling such cases and very good knowledge of the English language. 

The date on which the Commercial Court will commence operation is yet to be published by the Supreme Court of Cyprus, but is expected shortly.

Any party proceedings falling within the ambit of the aforementioned subject matters of the Commercial Court, that are currently pending before the District Courts of Cyprus, may apply to the particular Judge hearing the case asking for the proceedings to be directed to the Commercial Court, once the latter is fully functional.

In parallel to the establishment of the Commercial Court, the Constitution of Cyprus has been amended such that the Commercial Court, upon an application made by any of the parties to the proceedings, may allow the use of the English language during the conduct of the proceedings. In such case, the filing of judicial documents, the conduct of the proceedings and the judgement to be delivered by the Commercial Court, will all be made in the English language.

The establishment of the Commercial Court as well as the use of the English language during the conduct of proceedings before it will ultimately reinforce the competitiveness of Cyprus as an international commercial forum, fit to deal with complex issues in an efficient and timely manner.

This significant milestone in the reform of the Cyprus legal system aims and will hopefully relieve the District Courts of their heavy workload, expediting and delivering quality and specialisation to the dispute resolution process.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.