Cyprus: Worldwide freezing orders

Cyprus: Worldwide freezing orders

 

In the English case of Derby& Co v Weldon (No3 and 4) (1990) Ch 65, the Court of Appeal held unequivocally that a court can order a defendant’s assets to be frozen even if they are situated outside of the jurisdiction.  However what is vital to be established in such circumstances is:

(a)   Court must generally have jurisdiction over the cause of action;

(b)   Court must also be able to claim jurisdiction over assets that are held overseas. On this point one of the fundamental characteristics of an equitable remedy is that it operates in personam, hence provided that the Court can properly claim jurisdiction over an individual, it does not offend against the jurisdiction of another court to make an order against that person.

In the above English case as well as later cases as in Re Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA(No 9)(1994) 3 All ER 764, it was stated that worldwide freezing orders shall be granted only in exceptional circumstances. Nonetheless in the case of Credit Suisse Fides Trust v Cuoghi the Court of Appeal stated that the only relevant question was whether it would be ‘inexpedient’ to make the order.

Furthermore the potential powerful impact of a worldwide freezing order has led the Courts to require safeguards to be put in place to protect defendants. Partly to meet such concerns, it became the practice to require the claimant to file an undertaking not to seek to enforce the world wide freezing order abroad, without the permission of the court. That posed the question as to what factors the court should consider before granting the permission. The Court of Appeal in Dadourian Group International Inc v. Simms (2006) EWHC Civ 399 indentified eight non exhaustive guidelines such as the role of justice and convenience, the need to balance the interests of all actual and potential parties to the foreign proceedings, as well as the risk of dissipation of the assets.

In Cyprus, the Courts have followed the example of English courts on the issuance of worldwide freezing orders as in the case of Seamark Consultancy Services Limited v Joseph P Lasala et al (2007) 1 C.L.R 162 whereby the Supreme Court emphatically confirmed in 2007 that the courts of Cyprus can issue freezing orders with worldwide effect, stating that:

"It is apparent that by virtue of Section 32 of Law 14/60...having regard to the modern changes people make to their transactions, the court at first instance had the opportunity to grant the interim orders in question pursuant to which the assets of the appellants outside of the jurisdiction were frozen. It is therefore obvious that by virtue of section 32 of Law 14/60...the court of first instance had the right, in this case, to make interim orders that also freeze assets of the appellants outside of the jurisdiction.” 

 

 

 

 

 

For further information on this topic please contact

Ms. Nada Starovlah (nstarovlah@pittaslegal.com) at SOTERIS PITTAS & CO LLC,

by telephone (+357 25 028460) or by fax (+357 25 028461)

 

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advise should be sought about your specific circumstances.

PUBLICATIONS 2016

Cyprus: Guidance on the impact of no signature on ...
27 Dec 2016 13:22

Cyprus: Guidance on the impact of no signature on binding written agreements   In th [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: The new EU Electronic Signature Regulation...
07 Dec 2016 11:27

Cyprus: The new EU Electronic Signature Regulation 910/2014/EU   The EU has adopted  [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: THE DUTY OF DISCLOSURE AT AN EX PARTE HEA...
01 Dec 2016 08:05

CYPRUS:  THE DUTY OF DISCLOSURE AT AN EX PARTE HEARING EXTENDS ALSO TO WITHOUT PREJUDICE COR [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: THE DUTY TO DISCLOSE AT EX PARTE HEARINGS ...
21 Nov 2016 10:00

CYPRUS: THE DUTY TO DISCLOSE AT EX PARTE HEARINGS EXTENDS ALSO TO RELEVANT LAW AND APPLICABLE LEG [ ... ]

read more
Convention between the Republic of Cyprus and Latv...
03 Nov 2016 08:08

Convention between the Republic of Cyprus and Latvia   A Convention, for the avoidan [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: Recognition and enforcement of judgments u...
26 Oct 2016 07:15

Cyprus: Recognition and enforcement of judgments under the EU Regulation 1215/2012    [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: Worldwide freezing orders
19 Oct 2016 06:28

Cyprus: Worldwide freezing orders   In the English case of Derby& Co v Weldon (N [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: European Court of Justice importance in ru...
14 Oct 2016 08:11

Cyprus: European Court of Justice importance in ruling on the Cyprus haircut case    [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: Changes to the Civil Procedure Rules by th...
12 Oct 2016 08:44

Cyprus: Changes to the Civil Procedure Rules by the Supreme Court of Cyprus   In an  [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: Implementation of the EU Regulation No. 65...
28 Sep 2016 07:29

Cyprus: Implementation of the EU Regulation No. 655/2014   The EU Regulation No. 655 [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: ARBITRATION – ANTI-SUIT INJUNCTION ISSUED ...
14 Sep 2016 09:22

CYPRUS: ARBITRATION – ANTI-SUIT INJUNCTION ISSUED BY ARBITRATORS   &nbs [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus:Announcement by the Department of Registrar...
29 Aug 2016 07:15

Cyprus:Announcement by the Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver in relation [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: Clarification on Cross border Insolvency w...
28 Jul 2016 09:41

Cyprus: Clarification on Cross border Insolvency which may be applied by the Cypriot Courts & [ ... ]

read more
Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation an...
04 Jul 2016 07:15

Cyprus – Tax- Announcement of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus Convent [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: The Grand Chamber of the European Court of...
29 Jun 2016 06:00

CYPRUS: The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice to decide on the haircut of Cyprus  [ ... ]

read more
Enforcement of Judgments under the New Recast Regu...
14 Jun 2016 05:55

Enforcement of Judgments under the New Recast Regulation 1215/2012 and the issuance of protective [ ... ]

read more
CIRCULAR OF THE UNIT FOR COMBATING MONEY LAUNDERIN...
07 Jun 2016 07:56

CIRCULAR OF THE UNIT FOR COMBATING MONEY LAUNDERING PURSUANT TO THE ARTICLE 55(1)(D) OF THE PREVE [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: JURISDICTION OF CYPRUS COURTS TO RECOGNISE...
14 Apr 2016 05:58

CYPRUS: JURISDICTION OF CYPRUS COURTS TO RECOGNISE AND ENFORCE FOREIGN JUDGMENTS AND FOREIGN ARBI [ ... ]

read more
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS AND THE F...
07 Apr 2016 10:06

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS AND THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA –o [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS : English Court Guidance on Anti- suit Inju...
31 Mar 2016 06:23

CYPRUS : English Court Guidance on Anti- suit Injunctions ___________________________________ [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: Implementation of the Common Reporting Sta...
24 Mar 2016 06:57

Cyprus: Implementation of the Common Reporting Standard by the Republic of Cyprus    [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: English Court guidance on the wording of a...
17 Mar 2016 11:12

CYPRUS: English Court guidance on the wording of a Freezing Order   Recently the Sup [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS : English Court Guidance on the liability o...
09 Mar 2016 14:34

CYPRUS : English Court Guidance on the liability of an agent – towards his principal for be [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: LEGAL PROFESSIONAL PRIVILEGE
02 Mar 2016 08:13

CYPRUS: LEGAL PROFESSIONAL PRIVILEGE   In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Cyprus [ ... ]

read more
Cyprus: The strict approach of the provisions laid...
22 Feb 2016 07:47

Cyprus: The strict approach of the provisions laid under the New York Convention on the enforceme [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: LAW APPLICABLE TO CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS ...
18 Feb 2016 08:54

CYPRUS: LAW APPLICABLE TO CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS – ROME I REGULATION   Since  [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: An update of the European Criminal Records...
11 Feb 2016 11:13

CYPRUS: An update of the European Criminal Records Information System   An efficient [ ... ]

read more
CYPRUS: Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral awards und...
04 Feb 2016 06:57

CYPRUS: Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral awards under New York Convention ____________________ [ ... ]

read more
More Publications 2016

Subscribe to our Publications

Image
We are dedicated to providing our clients with outstanding, highly personalized, legal representation.
Chrysanthou Mylona 10 
3030 - Limassol, Cyprus
© Soteris Pittas & Co LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Image