Economou & Co LLC: Landmark Nicosia Court Ruling on Jurisdiction and Email Service
On June 28, 2024, the District Court of Nicosia delivered a landmark decision in a multi-million-dollar conspiracy case involving eight individuals and corporations. The case addressed several crucial jurisdictional issues, such as whether Cypriot Courts retained jurisdiction under the given circumstances, whether they could permit substitute service out of jurisdiction, and whether the Russo-Ukrainian war constituted exceptional circumstances to justify such service.
The Court determined that Cypriot Courts had jurisdiction to adjudicate the case, that substitute service out of jurisdiction could be ordered if exceptional circumstances existed, and that the Russo-Ukrainian war indeed created such circumstances:
“The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine (...) with all due respect to the Defendants' opposing position, easily justified a finding that the case was surrounded by exceptional circumstances which allowed the exercise, by way of derogation, of the discretionary discretion of the Court to allow service of judicial documents in a substitute manner.”
Moreover, the court made a very interesting remark with potentially significant implications, concluding that service via email does not necessarily constitute service within Russia:
“...substituted service of judicial documents by means of email, is completely unconnected with any geographical limitation, in view of the uninterrupted access to the relevant electronic medium (email) and consequently, also the receipt of any message sent by means of the use of a computer or a smartphone or other device providing access to email wherever the recipient is located. Therefore, even if I accept the relevant Defendants' submission that the Court is not granted authority to allow substituted service of judicial documents when it will be effected by serving them on a Russian national within the territory of Russia, on the basis of the fact that the particular substituted method approved does not require, by default, service within the territory of Russia, the relevant Defendants' argument is unjustified.”
The case details will be published after personal data is redacted.
The claimants were represented by Ioannis Economou and Eleftherios Economou, advocates of Economou & Co LLC.
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