18 November 2019

The matter of recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is subject to the New York Convention of 1958 and Law 84/1979, by which this Convention was ratified in Cyprus, and also amended by the Law on International Commercial Arbitration 101/1981, drawn up on the UNCITRAL model. In addition, there is the Law on the enforcement of foreign judgments 121 (I) / 2000, which applies to the enforcement of judgments of third countries, since the enforcement of EU judgments is performed otherwise.

To obtain the recognition of the arbitral award before Cyprus courts the party seeking for recognition must first file an application by summons enclosing all the documents under article IV of the New York Convention, and in particular:

• the duly authenticated original award or a duly certified copy thereof, AND
• the original agreement containing the arbitration clause.

If the award is delivered in a language other than the official language of the Republic of Cyprus, a translation of the award by an official or sworn translator or by a diplomatic or consular agent is required. Until July 2019, the body responsible for such translations in Cyprus was the Press and Information Center / Office (PIO). Today , translations are certified by sworn translators on an individual basis.

Practical steps:

1. Filing of an application enclosed by the award and the agreement containing the arbitration clause (duly certified and translated).
2. Service of the copy by a court clerk.
3. Objection of the defendant (on the basis of flimsy formalities: due to the lack of jurisdiction of the court, or to the discharge of the claim, or to the lack of formal prerequisites listed in the Ney York Convention).
4. Hearing – the final step.

There is a time restriction of 6 months for the consideration of this application, which is not absolute, since the consideration may be delayed due to the workload of the judge or for other reasons.

When a positive decision is made, the enforcement proceedings begin. At this point, the debtor also has the right to contest the enforcement measures.

In particular, among the proposed measures, it will be necessary to submit an application for the seizure of the debtor's movable property in Cyprus (Writ of Moveable Property). The application listing the debtor's movable property that can be seized (in particular, cash in bank accounts, if any) is submitted to the court. If there is no movable property, or if the debtor did nothing within 21 days from the date of the demand for repayment of the debt, then the creditor has the right to apply for liquidation of the debtor and to appoint an interim manager in order to preserve the debtor's property during this period.

"Law Firm O. Papadimitri LLC" in Limassol provides services for filing an application for recognition of decisions at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry or of arbitral awards."

For more detailed information please contact us by e-mail: info@papadimitri.com.