On 12 January 2021, the Supreme Court of Cyprus approved the transmission of the proposed Rules of Civil Procedure to the Judges’ Association and the Pancyprian Bar Association for their review, comments and suggestions. At the same time, a new permanent Rules Committee (consisting of representatives from all different stakeholder groups) is established for the consideration of the comments to be provided and subsequent submission of the final text to the Supreme Court. The proposed Rules are publicly available at the Supreme Court’s website.

The new Rules of Civil Procedure in Cyprus represent a valuable contribution to the ambitious reform process undertaken by the Supreme Court of Cyprus with a view to improving the court system and strengthening the efficiency of justice.

As a Pan-European organisation with extensive in-house expertise in the field of human rights and rule of law, the Council of Europe has been supporting, in close partnership with the European Union, the reform process in Cyprus as it does in all its member states.

The new Rules of Civil Procedure are expected to become an important tool for the protection of the rights and freedoms of all the parties concerned, providing ground for the upholding of the rule of law and allowing the judiciary to improve its efficiency. The new Rules will therefore become an essential component of the ongoing reform in Cyprus which the Council of Europe will continue to support.

The finalisation of the draft Rules of Civil Procedure was arranged under the European Union/Council of Europe Joint Project “SRSS : Enhancing the Current Reform of the Court System and the Implementation Process as well as the Efficiency of Justice”.