THE government is looking to create a commercial court, based in Limassol, as part of an ongoing effort to decongest the island’s courts, which are notorious for their delays.
Speaking before the House finance committee, Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said a bill regulating the operation of a commercial court was currently being processed by the Legal Service.
Nicolaou said the court would operate along the same lines as similar institutions in other countries, like Ireland, and will adjudicate on cases between nine and 12 months.
He said swift completion of cases would be an incentive for cases within the commercial court’s jurisdiction to be filed in Cyprus instead of other countries.
Ireland’s commercial court was set up in 2004 to provide efficient and effective dispute resolution.
Among others, it deals with disputes of a commercial nature where the value of the claim is at least €1m.
Reports said the Cypriot court will deal with claims of at least €2m, something opposed by business groups.
They argue that the ceiling must come down so that more cases are included within the court’s remit in a bid to lighten the burden of district courts.
Based on experience, the reports said, cases where the claim exceeds €2m are rare.
Nicolaou said the government initially wanted to set up an international court of arbitration, but opposition by the Supreme Court dashed the plan and it settled for the commercial court.
The minister said he was also looking to revisit the creation of small claims courts.
Presenting his ministry’s budget for next year, Nicolaou said the government put emphasis on achieving faster and better dispensation of justice with efforts bearing fruit.
One major change was the creation of the administrative court, which took over asylum and civil service employment appeals from the Supreme Court.
MPs heard that the court started its operation with 7,800 cases – around 1,300 new cases are filed each year – and has managed to issue 1,500 decisions annually.
The slow speed of Cypriot courts is one of the reasons that investors stay away.
A year ago, President of the Supreme Court Myron Nikolatos warned MPs the judiciary was in need of an overhaul or face collapse because of the delays in dispensing justice, especially in civil cases.
The island’s top judge said civil cases took five years to be tried and another five if there was an appeal.
For example, he said, the civil proceedings rules dated back to the island’s colonial days, as was the court registrar system, which still used books.
Also, hearings are still recorded manually, with trials often interrupted because stenographers get tired.
“It is like using a bicycle in an era where the car is used, or the aeroplane, or satellite,” he said at the time.
