Article by Christiana Agapiou, Senior Consultant, Digital Risk Services

The legal Cypriot community has recently seen leaps of improvement in the way cases and electronic data are handled. Aside from the fact that electronic evidence has recently became admissible to the Cypriot court, the establishment of a commercial court in the island comes to revolutionize the way commercial cases are litigated.

A few months ago, the House of Representatives in Cyprus passed Law69(I)/2022, which mainly attains the establishment and Operation of the Commercial Court and Admiralty Court. Unlike other commercial courts abroad, which are often established as divisions or chambers within other existing courts, the Commercial Court in our island is structured as a self-standing court. This means that its jurisdiction will not only be limited to cross-border disputes, but it will also extend to domestic disputes with territorial links to Cyprus. It is broadly believed that this dynamic introduction of commercial court will alleviate a respectful amount of caseload from the district courts, which are currently struggled to deal with, and in which sometimes take years to resolve, settle or issue decisions in general. Having a specialist Commercial Court which functions locally, will also act as a venue for resolving international financial disputes, which can undoubtedly increase Cyprus’ attractiveness and popularity in general.

Worth mentioning at that point, that the most common way of resolving large commercial cases/disputes in Cyprus is by litigation, for the most part in the highest level of the district courts (that is, Limassol, Larnaca, Nicosia, Famagusta and Paphos), which try all civil cases at first instance. Grant Thornton is thrilled by this tremendous opportunity, given its dedication of providing Electronic Discovery (eDiscovery) and Digital Forensic services to litigation practitioners or individuals/firms inextricably involved with legal cases. The prevalence of electronic data in today’s digital era is rapidly growing day by day and where data continues to grow exponentially, there is a necessity to find simplicity. Grant Thornton has worked with several commercial cases and has helped clients to find resolution. Regardless of the size or complexity of the case, Grant Thornton’s number one priority when it comes to a dispute and more specifically a commercial dispute is to that is achieved through standards and processes of eDiscovery, exercised by specialised and certified personnel.

When it comes to litigation, potential litigants have the legal duty to preserve potentially relevant Electronic Stored Information (ESI). Attorneys from both sides determine the scope of eDiscovery, identify, and preserve any relevant Electronic Stored Information (ESI), with the intention to make e-discovery requests to challenge the opposing. Once the previously mentioned is set, electronic information is (oftentimes forensically) collected, analysed, and produced in such a way so it can be used at the court. While this sounds simple, it is in fact a complex process that requires both technical and legal expertise to achieve a strong and defensible outcome. Especially when it comes to cases or claims worth of millions; as set by its establishment, the Commercial Court will be settling “commercial disputes,” of claims over €2.000.000. Based on this information and given the prevalence of electronic data in many commercial disputes, the necessity of eDiscovery and Digital Forensics becomes vital for a competent representation to the court.

Worth noting that, at the request of at least one party, the Cypriot court is obliged to accept procedural documents in English, whist it shall also conduct hearings/proceedings and publish judgements in the English language. This has as a prerequisite, that documents have been processed and analysed in such way so that different languages including English are identified, so that they can subsequently be reviewed and produced for court representation, respectively. It is important to emphasize what document review is. This is the process of analysing and reviewing electronic documents and other data that have been collected as part of the litigation process in an investigation or lawsuit. The goal of this is to identify relevant documents and information in general and determine whether those are responsive to the subpoenas or discovery requests that have been issued. Going back to the language matter, identifying foreign languages as early as possible in the review process is quite critical as it ultimately lays the groundwork for the rest of the workflow. Grant Thornton utilises technology to drive this process and encourages more firms to trust their cases to us. The fact that Cyprus is the first country in Europe that amended its constitution with a view to permit the use of the English language in court proceedings, signifies a step to the right direction by encouraging the use of eDiscovery and forensics in the legal world.

According to Matthieu Chemin (Mouttotos,2020), there are clear negative repercussions for the resolution of commercial disputes. Based on that, a slow judiciary system correlates with an increasing number of breach of contracts, something that discourages firms from initiating relationship-specific investments, impedes access of firms to formal financial institutions whilst it also acts in favour of inefficient dynasties. Therefore, the concept of establishing the Commercial Court in Cyprus is a proof that commercial courts internationally should no longer be seen as luxury but also as a substantial measure for territories and countries in general that aim to recover from a financial crisis.
The Bar Association has recently stated that: “Recognising that the professional services sector is a vital pillar of our economy, we need to assess the challenges, and come up with proposals and workable solutions and competitive tools, which will strengthen the sector and multiply opportunities, given that the level of justice directly relates to the country’s economic growth.” That is undoubtedly a strong statement as the Court’s establishment initiates the beginning of an interesting development and a great initiative that can transform Cyprus into an international centre of dispute resolution.

Without doubt the operation of the two new courts will facilitate better and speedy adjudication of commercial disputes and cases in general. This, in conjunction with the introduction of litigation in English, is expected to enhance the competitiveness of our island, invite foreign investment, and become an integral part to its overall economic growth.

Grant Thornton’s Digital Forensics and eDiscovery service offering can support law firms and other businesses during litigation and digital forensic investigations via utilizing the latest technologies for effective and efficient proceedings.