Basic Information about the Civil Action
Most legal systems that apply worldwide, distinguish the judicial procedures into the three following types: criminal procedure, civil procedure and administrative procedure. It is worth mentioning at this point, that the procedures followed in the labor court, family court and also in the rent control court are based on the civil procedure, thus many similarities can be noted.
Before getting into the specifics regarding the civil procedure and the civil action, it should be noted that the applicable law in the civil procedure is mainly the Civil Procedure Rules and the case law of the Supreme Court of Cyprus, which is published online on the website www.cylaw.org and can be accessed freely by anyone.
The civil courts are commissioned with the duty of solving a dispute between the parties of a civil trial. The question at this point is, which are the civil disputes and how can someone distinguish them? Civil disputes are the disputes which are ruled by the private law (civil law), do not lead to criminal punishment and arise between two (or more) civilians (natural person or legal entity). The most common examples of civil disputes are: breach of contract, professional negligence (e.g. medical negligence), libel etc.
The civil action is the legal mean used in the civil court. The plaintiff’s advocate after preparing and composing the legal document, files the action in the district court that has the jurisdiction to examine the dispute. Afterwards, the action is served to the defendant. From the time he receives the document of the civil action, the defendant has 10 days in order to make an appearance in court. This is done by filing a memo of appearance either by a lawyer or by the defendant personally. In case the defendant neglects to do so, the plaintiff, after the expiration of the 10-day period, has the right to go to court and proceed with the civil action. The plaintiff can even issue a judgment against the defendant, in this case. This is why the 10-day period for the defendant to make an appearance is considered extremely important in the context of the civil procedure, and one should be particularly cautious in case he is served with a civil action.
Assuming that the defendant makes an appearance, the first part of the civil procedure, is the stage of the pleadings. In many cases, the first pleading which needs to be filed by the plaintiff, the so called “statement of claim” is filed simultaneously with the filing of the action, and is therefore served automatically to the defendant. In other cases the statement of claim needs to be filed separately. Afterwards, the defendant has to file his “defense” (and possibly a “counterclaim”, if he has one) and finally the plaintiff, if needed, can respond to the defendant’s allegations, by filing a “reply”. The pleadings are made exclusively in writing and are a first exchange of points of view of the case’s facts, among the parties of a civil trial. The time required for the pleadings to be completed depends always on the case’s special circumstances and varies between a few months to much longer, especially in difficult cases.
After the pleadings are completed, the civil action is fixed at court in order for its hearing to begin. It is common knowledge that court actions (especially civil actions) can take up to a number of years in order for their hearing to begin and for a judgment to be issued. This is usually due to the large number of cases, which are pending in the courts of Cyprus. According to official data, published by the Supreme Court of Cyprus, in the District Court of Nicosia up to the year 2009, almost 10 thousand civil cases were pending, while in all Cypriot courts, there were over 25 thousand civil cases pending.[1]
Up to the day, when the court hearing of the civil action starts, the parties have the opportunity to examine the issues of the case, in order to try and settle the dispute out of court. In case there is a settlement, accepted by both parties, there is no need for the hearing of the case to begin and the civil action could be either withdrawn as settled, or a court judgment could be issued, which will reflect the agreed settlement between the parties. In any case, the civil action is completed.
The court hearing is the only way for the civil action to be completed, in case no settlement is achieved between the parties. The hearing is done by presenting at court the evidence of the case, in order for the plaintiff and the defendant to back up their cases. One party has the right to contradict the other party’s allegations, by the method of cross-examination. After the hearing is concluded, the judge has to study all the evidence of the case and the statements of the witnesses, and issue a judgment.
With the issuance of the court judgment, the civil action procedure is concluded and the parties have 42 days in order to decide whether they will appeal the judgment in the Supreme Court. The appeal should be filed within the 42-day period. This time period is considered very important, since the interested party is not entitled to proceed with the appeal after the expiration of this period.
If an appeal is filed, and the records of the district court trial (first degree) are prepared, then the appeal is set before the Supreme Court for prejudication. This stage is similar to the directions given at the district courts. During prejudication, if the appeal reasons are considered justified, the Supreme Court instructs the appellant and the respondent to prepare their written addresses. It is worth mentioning that an appeal is almost fully completed in writing, while the appellant and the respondent have a short amount of time for an oral address. During an appeal, witnesses are rarely summoned and given that the written addresses are prepared, the hearing of the appeal is completed in only one day.
In Cyprus, as in all other countries in the world where the common law applies, there are only two degrees of jurisdiction. On the contrary in countries such as Greece, where a different legal system applies, sometimes there can be a third degree. However, in Cyprus when the judgment on the appeal is issued, any possible procedure in the context of the civil trial is concluded.
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