Legal Articles

The Association Agreement between Cyprus and the European Economic Community entered into force in the late 1980’s. As a result, Cyprus was obliged to establish legislation for the protection of competition and regulate unfair competition practices. Specifically, the protection against unfair competition is regulated by the following two legislations: the Protection of Competition Law (207...

On the 31st of July 2015 and 18th of January 2016 the EU adopted the following legislative instruments concerning restrictive measures against Libya: EU Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1333 of 31st July 2015 repealing EU Council Decision 2011/137/CFSP; Council Regulation (EU) 2016/44 of 18th January 2016 repealing Regulation (EU) No. 204/2011; The Circular No. 9/2016 issued by the Department of...

Banking is one of the most important sectors of the economy since it influences investment and consumption. Confidentiality is a cornerstone element of an effective and efficient bank system.  In Cyprus, bank secrecy is regulated by section 29 (1) of the Banking Law (66 (I)/97). According to the provisions of section 29(1), it is prohibited for any member of the administrative and management...

Personal data defines any information relating to a natural living person. Some illuminating examples are the number of our identity card, passport, date of birth, mailing address, email, etc. In many cases, individuals need to provide their personal data to third parties for many reasons, such as to order a product online, to request a service, to answer a survey, to open a bank account, to...

The leak of 11.5 million confidential documents of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed how rich and powerful people use tax havens to hide their wealth. Particularly, these papers, also known as Panama Papers, demonstrate how Mossack Fonseca assisted its clients to avoid tax, dodge sanctions and launder money. Mossack Fonseca is one of the largest law firms in Panama and operates...

Confidentiality and data protection are two vital issues in almost all business, social and employment matters. Specifically, data protection is an emerging topic that public and private organisations need to address carefully and develop the necessary policies in order to protect sensitive information when they perform their daily operations and also when they try to establish new business...

The Employment Law (100(1)/2000) in Cyprus includes both statute and case law. Specifically, Cyprus statute law contains issues related to the termination of employment, paid leave, annual social insurance, maternity leave, equal treatment at work e.t.c. The Labour Disputes Courts deals with issues related to the rights of employees and employers. The Employment Law applies to every employee...

Estate planning is the process of arranging the disposal of someone’s movable and immovable property after his/her death. Estate planning may eliminate doubts over the administration of estates. Obviously, estate planning is a rather sensitive issue. As a result, many people avoid addressing it. However, it should be taken into account that the documents you prepare regarding your death might...

The geographical location of Cyprus between Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa together with the well-established legal, banking and accounting infrastructures urge local and foreign business people to invest in immovable property.  A considerable advantage of the Cyprus legal system is the protection of ownership without discriminations. That is to say, according to Cyprus Law, Cypriot...

The Alternative Investment Funds Managers’ (AIFMs) Law, 56(I)/ 2013, aligns the Cyprus regulatory framework with various EU regulations on Alternative Investment Managers (AIMs). Specifically, the Law identifies the following two Alternative Investment Funds Manager: The AIFMs that internally manage AIFs. The AIFMs that are appointed as external managers of AIFs. AIFMs need to be licensed by...