If there is one thing professionals agree on is that procedural matters across all fields and sectors should be moving onwards, not backwards. Given the ever-increasing need for efficiency in today's world, ‘onwards' largely denotes the practical use of technological advancements.
In the Cypriot legal system two interesting aspects to keep an eye on are a) digitalisation and b) the impact the new Civil Procedure Rules (CPRs), the combination of which brings knock–on effects on an efficient delivery of justice.
At an EU level, the use of communications technology at court, in particular videoconference and teleconference, to take evidence has been both acceptable and encouraged since 2001 under Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 on cooperation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters. In 2020, Regulation (EU) 2020/1783 on cooperation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters (taking of evidence) was also introduced, further providing that where evidence is required to be taken directly, by examining a person who is in another Member State, the court shall take evidence using videoconferencing or other distance communications technology provided that this is available to the court and appropriate in the circumstances of each case.
At a national level, digitalisation of the judicial system has been largely encouraged under the 2010 addition of article 36A to Evidence Law Cap. 9. Article 36A provides that, if the court considers it in the interests of justice, it may allow a witness outside Cyprus to give their testimony by videoconference in any criminal or civil proceedings.
Of interesting relevance in this regard is a recent interim judgment of April 2024 by the District Court of Famagusta to Lawsuit No. 534/2016. An application was made for an order with which permission would be given or/and it would be allowed to adduce evidence and/or conduct the main examination and/or cross-examination of the witness of the Applicant, who was a permanent resident of the United States, via videoconference. The judge allowed the application and issued the said order.
In reaching this judgment, the judge highlighted that the court's discretion which is to be exercised in regard to determining what exactly “in the interests of justice” means, shall be exercised in a way that promulgates the overriding objective of the new CPRs even in regard to cases filed before the enforcement of the new CPRs, as the new CPRs themselves provide. In exercising judicial discretion in regard to this application, the judge considered the overriding objective of providing courts with the ability to manage cases fairly and at a proportionate cost, including the taking into account of cost savings, the need for quick and fair case management, the severity of the case, the financial circumstances of each party, and the proportionate allocation of judicial resources, amongst others.
In effect, Part 45.44 of the new CPRs further provides that where a hearing is deemed necessary and the use of technology is appropriate for the fair conduct of proceedings, the hearing is conducted with the use of appropriate technology of distance communication, such as videoconference or teleconference, which is available at court. It also provides that where the person with whom the hearing is concerned resides in another EU Member State, the said person participates in the hearing via videoconference, teleconference or other technology using the procedures laid out in Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001.
Still, according to the 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard of the European Commission published in June 2024, Cyprus ranked amongst the Member States with the lowest number of procedural rules allowing digital technology in courts in civil/commercial, administrative and criminal cases for 2023, including witnesses being heard by distance communication technology. Nonetheless, this could be due to the fact that the new CPRs were only applied from September 2023 onwards. In fact, Cyprus had better rankings in the following elements of digitalisation for 2023: a) use of digital technology by courts and prosecution services, b) electronic communication tools for courts and the prosecution service, and c) digital solutions to initiate and follow proceedings in civil/commercial and administrative cases, whereas it also had one of the highest rankings for online access to published judgments by the general public.
It therefore seems that an active effort is being made within the Cypriot legal system to modernise the administration of justice and to keep up with worldwide digitalisation. The new CPRs are now also supplemented by the changing attitude of judges who seem to be pushing for a quicker and more efficient delivery of justice and their acknowledgement that one way for this to be achieved is through the use of technology. In fact, in giving the aforementioned interim judgment, the judge herself admitted that “… any contrary conclusion of the court […] would impinge on the …” efforts described above.
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