Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Pros and Cons of establishing a company or a branch in Cyprus

Q: Mr Esquire After greetings My name is Mostafa and I am Egyptian. I want to inquire about the establishment of a limited liability company in Cyprus. Its activity is import and export. I have an import and export company already. Is the establishment of a new company in Cyprus better than a branch of the company? What procedures, costs and advantages can be obtained. Sorry for the delay. With thanks and appreciation

Reclaiming a property in Cyprus inherited from the mother

Q: مرحباً، لدينا حصص في عقار في قبرص - ليماسول وعليها بناء، ونحن نملكه إرثاً عن والدتنا القبرصية التركية وأرغب بمتابعة أمور عقارنا القانونية.

Misuse of a power of attorney granted to manage a bank account

Q: I am a foreigner and have a permanent residency in Cyprus. I had an account in the Hellenic Bank. Because I was busy out of Cyprus, I gave a power of attorney to my friend to take care of my account by signing bank documents in this respect. After a while, I went to my bank to check my account. Unfortunately, I saw that she transferred all of my money to her own account without any permission or informing me. I thought that because of the power of attorney that I have given to her, she had this right to transfer the money. But recently I thought, although she had my power of attorney, she had no right to transfer my money to her account. What will be the result at the court if I ask to return my money?

Claiming ownership of the deceased father property

Q: Hi, My father of Greek/Cypriot origin owned a business in Limassol, Cyprus for over 30 years. The land which this business was built on was owned by the Turkish government (Merimner.. I think) which was allocated and the ownership of the building was in my Father`s name. Unfortunately my father passed away suddenly in April 2000, since this time I have applied and attended the offices in Limassol to claim and transfer over the ownership into my name which for some reason has been prevented from happening. I am still unable to find out whom I need to speak with, or even where to start and would like to know what I can do to gain what was legally my right in transferring the land over into my name. For over 17 years now I have been prevented from inheriting what I feel was rightfully mine. Could you please advise if this is something that I could learn more about or if there is a case to be opened regarding this. Many thanks, Chris

Is it legal to terminate employment without reasons?

Q: Dear Sirs Does an employee have to agree with a termination notice letter if not proper reasons were given??? The contract only states: 12.1. Subject to the following, the company may terminate the employment by giving to the employees one month notice. 12.2. The company reserves the right, at its discretion, to terminate the employment immediately without giving the period of notice to above by paying the employee her basic salary in lieu of all part of her notice period as the case may be. Can the employer terminate the contract without any reasons? Thanks

Legal rights of the employee upon termination by the company

Q: Dear Sir/Madam I have recently been moved to Cyprus by a company which offered me a salary of 1600 euro + first months deposit money. On the 7th of may, I arrived, and on the 21st, they sacked me. On the 20th, I put a deposit down for a place (while employed). Now the company only wants to pay me for the 1 week I worked and it`s refusing to pay me my first month`s deposit but I signed the agreement that stated I`m entitled to a 500 euro worth of a deposit. I`m really looking for advice before I say anything wrong.

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Issues with a real estate company regarding the final payment

Q: Good afternoon, I purchased through Leptos Estates in 2005. I was in dispute over a final payment because they never completed the snagging. The last invoice they sent me was in 2008 at which time I contacted them to say I was still unhappy as they hadn`t rectified the snagging issues. There has been no correspondence from them regarding this for over 10 years so I assumed they had accepted my counterclaim. They have now sent me an invoice claiming the interest of over 10,000 euro. Am I liable or is there a case that they have failed to try to recover this amount even if I have to pay interest as stated at the last invoice in 2008? Leptos claims that we owe them as monies were outstanding even though they haven`t invoiced me or contacted me by email regarding this in 10 years. In that time, I have not changed my email address and have had my post redirected if ever I was not at my home address. I would appreciate your thoughts.

The maximum limit of working hours allowed by the law in Cyprus

Q: Hello, I work on a river ship in European waters under Cyprus contract. The daily working hours are not mentioned In the contract. Just that they can be extended with overtime allowed by the Cyprus labour law. In fact, my colleagues and I work every day around 12 to 14 hours without a weekly day off. In the same time, my manager gives me to sign work time sheet with only 8 hours per day. I don`t think this is allowed and maybe I do mistake with signing this fake document.

Financial allowance for an autistic child

Q: Hello! I have questions to a family lawyer. I am Arminian married to a Cypriot man for about 6 years. We have an autistic child with special needs, so the government gives us Epidoma (family allowance) for him. Also one time a year I receive child benefit. My question is am I allowed spent this money for child and my vacation if all child`s therapy is paid and he doesn`t have lessons in August? My husband never gives me money, also he said he will report it to the police if I spend the child`s money. Is he right? Also, my husband said he will report it to the police if I go out with the child to the park without his permission, is he right? Thank you.

The legal custody of child in case of separation

Q: Good afternoon! Just an enquiry for my information. I am a foreigner from Estonia, but I have a yellow slip, all-year-round job and a rented apartment, and my boyfriend is Cypriot, his parents own a house here and he has a job all year round. We are not officially married and we have a son together. In case of our separation, with whom will the child stay? The child is less than a year old.

Cancellation of a property sale contract due to the buyer's breach

Q: Dear Lawyers, I want to ask about the procedures and how long it takes to cancel a deposit contract of sale in the land registry? The buyer-from UK paid deposit 10 years ago and deposit the contract but he didn`t come to proceed. The title deeds and keys are still in the seller`s name. The buyer doesn`t want to come to proceed or to cancel the contract. We called him many times and even by a certified letter that he signed it in England. Thank you in advance

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Tenancy increases permitted by law in Cyprus

Q: Dear Sir, I am in the second year of a year by year tenancy contract with my landlord in central Larnaca. I am paying €430 per month for a two bedroom, one bath and a half, apartment on the 4th floor in a 10-year-old building. Now, the landlord has foreshadowed a rise of €100 when the next period starts in February 2018. The Cyprus Statistics Office has indicated to me that the rent levels in Larnaca have decreased a little during 2015 and -16, and shows zero change so far. I have heard that there are legal limitations on the increase of rent, and I would be obliged if you could tell me what they are. Many thanks

Freezing a corporate bank account for unknown source of funds

Q: Hello, I am the manager of a travel agency, and we have a bank account with one of the big banks. I was surprised last month that the account was closed without informing me, and when I contacted them, they told me that the source of the money entering this account is unknown. The problem is still not sorted until now, and I am contacting them on daily basis without avail. Please let me know, what should I do? This is causing us a hassle at work let alone damaging our reputation in front of the people we are dealing with. Thank you.

Necessary precautions and followed procedure in company acquisition

Q: Dear Sir, I am a foreign investor in a medium-sized enterprise in Limassol, with 3 other partners selling machines for tree-care like harvesting, pruning, cutting, storage...etc. The business was not going well recently, and we have some default on payments. In the meantime, the Italian company we sell its products might be interested in the acquisition of the company. My first question is, if we could not reach an agreement with the Italian company, what are the legal precautions we should take to avoid exhausting commitments/debts? Second, if the acquisition happened, do we need legal representation to agree on the terms or at least revision of the offer and contracts?

Civil wedding in Cyprus

Q: Hello, I am from an Arab country that recognizes religious marriage, and my religion (Muslim) does not allow me to marry a person from a different religion (Christian). Our parents have no problem as long as we keep our religions. Is that possible with civil marriage procedure in Cyprus, and what documents do we need for that? Can we go alone? Thank you.