Filenews 2 January 2023 - by Evagoras Prokopiou
An interview on justice and the course of the legal profession was given to Forbes by the President of the Cyprus Bar Association, Dr. Christos Clerides. It makes reference to the new delay in the reform of the judiciary, pointing to those responsible for it. It notes that all aspects of the involvement of lawyers and law firms in the "golden passports" scandal are being investigated. It analyses the problems that arose for Cypriot law firms from the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine and explains the usefulness of the creation of the Cyprus Arbitration and Mediation Centre.
What is the biggest bet – goal that the Cyprus Bar Association is called upon to achieve in the near future?
There are several issues that are on the agenda of the P.D.C. The biggest challenge is the implementation of the reform. The start date of the reform is normally January 2023 but it seems that there will be a slight delay in the implementation of the target. Unfortunately, this is due to two factors. Firstly, according to a briefing I received, the necessary steps were not taken to staff the new Court of Appeal with the appropriate and sufficient administrative staff. This is a burden on the government, which should have taken its measures bearing in mind that the legislation was passed around mid-July 2022. The second reason is the request of the Supreme Court to postpone until 1/7/2023 for the opening of the new court of appeal, the new Supreme Constitutional Court and the new Supreme Court. Again, I consider that, since the law was published in early August 2022 in the Official Journal, there was sufficient time to speed up the procedures, namely the convening of the first Supreme Judicial and Advisory Council, its drafting into a body, the announcement of the 21 positions and the completion of the interviews in September, at the latest by the beginning of October, with decisions on appointment no later than the end of October. From then on, vacant positions of Presidents, Senior, Provincial and Provincial, which are the result of the appointment of some Presidents to the positions of the Court of Appeal and the new Supreme Constitutional and or Supreme Court, could be filled, if not by the end of December, at the latest by the end of January, when no postponement would be necessary. There have been delays but it is not the end of the world.
We are therefore inevitably heading for the implementation of the reform with some delay and we hope that there will not be a long delay. The Supreme Court asked until July 1. The P.D.S. under the circumstances could only consent to an extension but requested that the time for the commencement of operations of the new Court of Appeal and three tertiary courts be brought forward. I believe that this is possible, as long as there is will and synergy of all those involved.
Where are we with the long-awaited reform of the Cypriot judiciary? Do you think there is still a long way to go?
In relation to the reform of secondary and tertiary jurisdiction, the problems that exist at the moment are those I mentioned above. However, there are still a number of problems concerning the jurisdiction of first instance, where the largest number of cases, i.e. in the district and special courts. Here, unfortunately, the pace at which the competent bodies move is a turtle. For example, they have made "belly" issues related to remote hearing of cases (ODR), recording and transcription of minutes, the creation of courts to resolve small claims, issues related to the appointment of additional retired lawyers and or lawyers with experience to deal with cases that are overdue, finding suitable offices of additional judges, referring cases to arbitration and mediation. I am sorry to note that, on all these issues, instead of the competent bodies acting with the speed required under the circumstances, in view of the fact that Cypriot justice is on the map of countries with a tragic record in resolving civil and administrative law cases, we are moving as if nothing is happening. They should all have rolled up their sleeves and worked if possible overtime so that we could make up for lost time. There is still a long way to go. The establishment of a court service has been set in motion but is not expected to be operational in my estimation before the end of 2023, possibly 2024, and the civil procedure institutions are expected to be implemented in 2023 in September.
The P.D.C. is pushing in every direction on an almost daily basis to speed up the procedures. Unfortunately, in Cyprus, urgent issues are flowing at a snail's pace.
SANCTIONS IN RUSSIA
How much are we "blocked" by the packages of sanctions against Russia decided by the European Union with regard to law firms as well?
The packages of sanctions against Russia have certainly also affected law firms, particularly those dealing with clients from Russia. First of all, it affected offices which had as clients Russians who were nominally placed on the sanctions list. Furthermore, offices managed by companies of Russian interests have been affected, since it is not possible to provide services in the form of opinions that Russian nationals residing in Russia who control those companies, or lawyers in Russia acting on their behalf or on behalf of Russian entities, could request. Direct legal advice on matters relating to the management of these firms by law firms in Cyprus serving this clientele was affected.
A problem also arose with international trusts, since it was initially requested that these trusts be liquidated if the beneficiaries were Russian residents of Russia and or entities based in Russia. Some extensions have been granted now but there are still dysfunctional problems in relation to international trusts that have Russian residents or Russian-based beneficiaries.
Also, the shipping sector and the offices that serve it will face problems in relation to transport from ships flying the Cypriot flag of oil or gas even to countries in the east. This is as long as a specific price for the sale and disposal of Russian gas and or oil will apply. A relatively small number of firms offering this type of service, mainly of large law firms, are affected. The majority of law firms will not be directly affected by the measures and restrictions but will certainly be indirectly limited due to the impact on the economy of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
PENALTIES FOR "GOLDEN PASSPORTS"
How far is the completion of the internal investigation of the Cyprus Bar Association regarding the Cyprus Investment Programme and what are its findings?
The P.D.S. has proceeded intensively in its investigations for the investment program of the so-called golden passports. It has adjudicated a fairly large number of cases, fines have been imposed and many tens of thousands of euros have been collected, specifically more than 100,000, closer to 200,000 in various law firms. The main law firms involved have already been investigated, charges have been brought and the trial of the cases continues with the aim that by the end of the year we will be very close to completing our investigations.
As I have said many times, a relatively small number of offices are involved in a large number of passports, and several offices have successfully passed the audit as nothing reprehensible was found by the investigation. In some offices, written recommendations have been made to further strengthen the procedures that follow in general for issues related to AML and KYC. The important thing is that the message was sent that the P.D.S. is a serious watchdog of compliance with the procedures and legislation but at the same time it is also a helper and consultant in the offices in order to improve the controls and the quality of service provision in this field.
A USEFUL TOOL
What is the usefulness in the creation of the Cyprus Arbitration and Mediation Centre and what role will it play?
The usefulness of the creation of the Cyprus Centre for Arbitration and Mediation is enormous. At last, the P.D.C. has an official body which can be used for dispute resolution by experts, lawyers who are qualified to be arbitrators. A large number of cases can be resolved through the mediation and arbitration process by the Centre. According to the Courts Law 14/60, Article 36, in any civil procedure there is the possibility of referring the adjudication of the dispute to arbitration where the dispute at issue requires a long examination of documents or scientific or field research or the dispute in question concerns questions of accounts. These provisions of Article 36 should be extended by an amendment to allow the court to refer to arbitration in other cases.
As President I had asked the competent Arbitration and Mediation Commission to consider the question of amending and extending Article 36 of the Law so that in future the courts would have a wider power to refer various issues to arbitration. There should also be pilot projects in the courts for referral of disputes to arbitration and or mediation and relevant regulations for mediation that have been pending for a long time.
You recently referred to two bills that you are currently working on, what are the proposals and what are they aimed at?
The P.D.S. further submitted before the Ministry of Justice and the General Prosecutor's Office a proposal for a law to change and amend the Lawyers Law. The drafting of the bill by the Ministry of Justice is in its final stages. According to this bill, the register of lawyers kept by the Supreme Court will be transferred to the Council of the P.D.C. and those lawyers who are registered with it or will be registered in the future, will be obliged to pay an annual fee and will be able, if they attend certain hours of teaching in the context of lifelong education, to be registered in the register of practice of law. In case of failure to pay the annual right and or completion of the hours, this right will not exist, unless the dues are paid and in addition the teaching hours are completed.
Furthermore, a limitation period for actions against the Board of Directors and or the Legal Council is set and the Power is now given to the Council to determine the annual right which lawyers must pay for the renewal of the license to practice the profession.
It also restricts the right to appear lawyers accused of serious disciplinary misconduct, e.g. after being convicted by an assize court before an assize court or a Supreme Court. Their appearance in such a case will be a contempt for the court itself until their case is heard. Various proposals for legislation concerning the improvement of the system for the enforcement of court decisions are also pending before the Parliament, as well as the need for certain types of contracts to be drawn up only by lawyers such as sale documents and or lease documents that are filed in the land registry. I do not expect, apart from the first bill I mentioned, their adoption before the presidential elections, given that, the House is in its last sessions for 2022 and then essentially the House will languish until the election of the new President.
TECHNOLOGY AT THE SERVICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
Can technology and innovation offer new areas of interest and occupations for the legal profession?
Technology and innovation safely offer new areas of interest and engagement for the legal profession. My assessment is that Cyprus, albeit more slowly but gradually, will now be led to the creation of Virtual Offices. More work will be done from home and large law firm buildings, or large ones, in any case, from a building point of view, law firms, will gradually disappear.
Technology, especially remote communication online, enables lawyers to communicate with their clients, witnesses, etc., via the internet and thus less time will be spent in their offices.
In addition, the research is now done through the internet, so that the lawyer does not have to visit his library or the library of the Supreme Court or the Legal Service. In addition, online websites offer a wide range of legal services, including through smart technology and intelligence, documents, opinions, etc., that in the past someone needed hours and hours of research to be able to advise and or deliver to his client.
Knowledge of technology and its introduction in law firms is sine qua non now. Anyone who does not follow it will miss the train and find themselves out of business. The same applies to the handling of court cases. We are now heading for an era where registrations will gradually be made only electronically and a large number of case trials will also be done remotely online (ODR). Technology and innovation in the field of justice are also the biggest challenge.
From Forbes magazine
