Overview of the Arbitration Law and Practice in Cyprus

This seminar represents a one-day race through domestic and international arbitration in Cyprus and its two different statutes covering those subjects. The workshop will cover the basic arbitration and other dispute resolution techniques and the ideas behind the Arbitration Law and the International Commercial Arbitration Law.

The group will have the opportunity to explore the keys to drafting a competent arbitration clause, look at an overview of the key jurisdictional issues and the extent and timing of court intervention on the subject. Finally, participants will look at issues surrounding the appointment of arbitrators, the law to be applied by them, the procedures and the various ways of challenging and enforcing the arbitrator’s decision.

Training Objectives

By the end of the programme, participants should be able to:

• Find and apply, generally, the law on domestic and international arbitration in Cyprus
• Understand the roles of different dispute resolution techniques
• Appreciate the key jurisdictional issues in an arbitration
• Apply the IBA guidelines and other rules on bias and know how to use them
• Understand how arbitration procedures work
• Determine the applicable law
• Have a grasp of the extent and timing of court control over arbitrations in Cyprus
• Know the basics of how to enforce or obtain recognition of arbitration awards under the New York Convention

Training Outline

Dispute resolution techniques

• Defining arbitration
• Alternatives: Mediation, Mini-trial, Adjudication, Expertise, Dispute Resolution Boards (DRBs)
• Differences and similarity with litigation
• Ad hoc and institutional arbitration
• Arbitration institutions around the world and in Cyprus

Arbitration law in Cyprus

• Arbitration Law, Chapter 4, as amended (Cap. 4)
• International Commercial Arbitration Law 101/1987, as amended
• Origins in 1889 and 1950 English Acts and the UNCITRAL Model Law
• New York Convention on the Enforcement and Recognition of Arbitration Awards

Drafting arbitration clauses

• Standard clauses and key elements

Starting the arbitration

• ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL Rules and the Cyprus Laws

Jurisdiction issues

• Written form requirements
• Parties to the arbitration
• Separability of the arbitration clause
• Scope of the clause
• Subject-matter arbitrability
• EU law issues
• Competence-competence – who decides on jurisdiction, when and the standards applied
• Procedural features of challenging jurisdiction in Cyprus

Appointing the arbitrator

• IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest
• Who deals with challenges to arbitrators
• Handling biased arbitrators in practice
• Other challenges to arbitrators

The arbitration process

• Procedural requirements and styles – fairness and going beyond the claims
• Approaches to pleading cases in international arbitration
• The law applicable to the arbitration process and the merits of the dispute
• Partial and final awards
• Interest and costs

Review of arbitration awards

• Review on jurisdiction, procedural matters, public policy and error of law
• Setting aside proceedings
• Enforcement and the New York Convention
• Other techniques for recovering money

Training Style

The programme consists of an interactive presentation of the relevant rules and good practice with questions and comments to and from the participants, interrupted by a large number of practical examples. Furthermore, the programme is supported by some video presentations on YouTube, notably on the New York Convention.

Who Should Attend

The programme is ideal for:

• Lawyers seeking to understand arbitration and dispute resolution generally
• Dispute resolution specialists keen to increase their legal knowledge
• Lawyers in need of CPD points and keen to move away from looking at court litigation as the only form of dispute management
• HR Managers who need to know the fundamentals of Cyprus arbitration
• Professionals and students keen to understand where Cyprus arbitration law comes from and how it operates