The words are half the anxiety. Here they stop being foreign
In short
- Plain-English definitions, with the Greek term you will see on the documents.
- Where this site has a full page on a term, the entry links to it.
- Definitions explain concepts; your own case always turns on its documents.
Cyprus legal documents mix two languages and a register of their own. This page collects the terms that clients meet most, from the first search certificate to the grant of probate, defined the way we would explain them across a desk. It grows as the site grows.
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Discuss your legal matterProperty and land
Title deed Τίτλος ιδιοκτησίας
The registered record of ownership held by the Department of Lands and Surveys. Not a paper you keep but an entry in a public register, and what matters is what the register says on the day you check it.
More on thisSearch certificate Πιστοποιητικό έρευνας
The Land Registry printout showing the registered owner, the description of the property and every registered charge and prohibition against it. The first document any buyer or lender should read.
More on thisEncumbrance Εμπράγματο βάρος
A registered burden on immovable property: a mortgage, a memo, a court prohibition. Encumbrances rank by their date, and a buyer takes the property subject to whatever was registered before them.
Deposited contract Κατατεθειμένη σύμβαση
A contract of sale lodged at the District Land Office under the Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law. Depositing it within the time limit is what preserves the buyer’s right to compel the transfer.
More on thisSpecific performance Ειδική εκτέλεση
The court-ordered completion of a deposited contract of sale: the seller is compelled to transfer the property itself, rather than merely pay damages for refusing to.
More on thisTrapped buyer Εγκλωβισμένος αγοραστής
A buyer who paid for property, often in full, but never received the title because the developer’s own mortgage or debts sat on the land first. A rebuilt statutory mechanism now provides the escape route.
More on thisTransfer fees Μεταβιβαστικά τέλη
The fees the Land Registry charges on the transfer of immovable property, on a scale by value. They interact with VAT: where VAT was paid on the purchase, the fees are reduced.
More on thisAssignment Εκχώρηση
The transfer of a buyer’s contractual rights under a deposited contract to a new buyer, used where no separate title deed exists yet. The new buyer steps into the original buyer’s position.
More on thisReservation agreement Συμφωνία κράτησης
The short first agreement that takes a property off the market while the buyer’s lawyer completes due diligence. What it commits each side to depends entirely on how it is drafted.
More on thisRent control Ενοικιοστάσιο
The statutory regime that limits rent increases and restricts eviction for tenancies inside its scope. Whether a tenancy falls inside or outside it changes almost every answer about the tenancy.
More on thisLitigation under the Civil Procedure Rules 2023
Claim form Έντυπο απαίτησης
The document that begins a civil action: it names the parties and states briefly what is claimed. Service of the claim form is the event that starts the defendant’s deadlines running.
More on thisStatement of claim Έκθεση απαίτησης
The detailed basis of the claim: the facts relied on and the remedies sought. It either accompanies the claim form or, where the form says one will follow, is served separately later.
Memorandum of appearance Σημείωμα εμφάνισης
The form by which a defendant tells the court they have notice of the action, who represents them and their address for service. Filing it is not an admission of anything.
More on thisDefence Υπεράσπιση
The defendant’s answer to the claim, filed within the period the rules set after the appearance. A counterclaim, if there is one, is contained in the same document.
Counterclaim Ανταπαίτηση
The defendant’s own claim back against the claimant, raised in the same document as the defence and decided in the same proceedings.
Default judgment Απόφαση ερήμην
Judgment entered without a hearing on the merits because the defendant filed no appearance or no defence. It is enforced like any other judgment.
More on thisSetting aside Παραμερισμός
The procedure for cancelling a default judgment: as of right where the judgment was wrongly entered, and at the court’s discretion where the defendant shows a real prospect of defending and moved without delay.
Interim order Ενδιάμεσο διάταγμα
A court order made while the case is still running, to hold the position until trial: prohibitions, mandatory orders, appointments of receivers, and their stricter cousins below.
Freezing order Διάταγμα παγοποίησης
An interim order preventing a defendant from disposing of assets before judgment, so that winning the case does not become an empty exercise. Breach is punishable as contempt.
More on thisDisclosure Αποκάλυψη εγγράφων
The stage at which each party must reveal the documents relevant to the issues, including those that harm its own case. The rules also allow targeted applications for specific disclosure.
More on thisWitness statement Γραπτή δήλωση μάρτυρα
The written evidence of a witness, exchanged before trial and standing as their evidence in chief. Cross-examination at the hearing tests what the statement says.
Security for costs Εγγύηση εξόδων
An order that a claimant provide security for the defendant’s legal costs before the case proceeds, typically where the claimant is abroad or a company of doubtful means.
Limitation period Παραγραφή
The statutory deadline for starting a claim, counted from when the cause of action arose. Miss it and the claim is barred however strong it was: which period applies depends on the type of claim.
More on thisArbitration Διαιτησία
Dispute resolution by a private tribunal the parties chose in their contract, instead of the courts. The award binds the parties and is enforced through the courts.
More on thisDebt recovery and enforcement
Letter before action Εξώδικη επιστολή απαίτησης
The formal written demand sent before proceedings, naming the debt, the basis and the deadline. Drafted properly it protects the claim behind it; drafted badly it is used against the sender.
More on thisWrit of execution Ένταλμα εκτέλεσης
The court instrument that puts a judgment into effect against the debtor’s property: seizure and sale of movables, sale of immovables, or delivery of what the judgment ordered.
More on thisMemo Μεμό (εγγραφή απόφασης)
The registration of a judgment at the Land Registry against the debtor’s immovable property, making it security for the judgment debt. It holds, as a rule, for ten years and can be renewed.
More on thisAttachment of debts Κατάσχεση εις χείρας τρίτου
Enforcement against money a third party owes the judgment debtor, a bank balance or a receivable: the court orders the third party to pay the creditor directly.
More on thisStatutory demand Νόμιμη απαίτηση πληρωμής
The formal demand on a company that opens the road to winding-up proceedings if it stays unpaid. Often the fastest source of pressure on a corporate debtor.
More on thisWinding up Εκκαθάριση
The process by which a company’s existence is brought to an end and its assets are collected and distributed to creditors, voluntarily or by court order.
More on thisCompanies and commercial
HE number Αριθμός εγγραφής εταιρείας
The registration number the Registrar of Companies assigns to every Cyprus company. It identifies the company in every public filing, and this firm publishes its own: HE 441973.
Registered office Εγγεγραμμένο γραφείο
The official address of a Cyprus company, where notices and court documents can be served and statutory records kept. Every company must maintain one in Cyprus.
More on thisCompany secretary Γραμματέας εταιρείας
The officer responsible for the company’s statutory books, filings and minutes. Every Cyprus company must have one, and the role carries real duties rather than a title.
More on thisProcess agent Αντίκλητος επίδοσης
A person in Cyprus appointed under a contract to accept service of proceedings for a foreign party, so that service is fast and beyond dispute.
More on thisBeneficial owner Πραγματικός δικαιούχος
The natural person who ultimately owns or controls a company or trust, recorded in the registers that transparency legislation requires. Nominee arrangements do not change who this is.
Wills, estates and personal status
Will Διαθήκη
The document by which a person directs what happens to their estate on death. In Cyprus its execution must follow the formalities of the Wills and Succession Law, Cap. 195, precisely.
More on thisForced heirship Νόμιμη μοίρα
The rule of Cyprus succession law reserving a portion of the estate for close family, which a will cannot override. What remains is the disposable portion.
More on thisDisposable portion Διαθέσιμη μοίρα
The fraction of the estate a person is free to leave by will after the reserved portion, computed from which relatives survive: spouse, children, parents.
More on thisProbate Επικύρωση διαθήκης
The court grant confirming a will and authorising the executor to administer the estate. Where there is no will, the equivalent grant appoints an administrator.
More on thisExecutor and administrator Εκτελεστής και διαχειριστής
The person who collects the estate, pays its debts and distributes what remains: the executor is named by the will, the administrator is appointed by the court where there is none.
More on thisInternational trust Διεθνές εμπίστευμα
A Cyprus trust whose settlor and beneficiaries are non-residents, used for asset protection and succession planning under the Cyprus international trusts legislation.
More on thisTax residency Φορολογική κατοικία
The status that determines where a person is taxed, decided in Cyprus by day-counting rules: the general 183-day rule, and the 60-day rule for those who meet its conditions.
More on thisNon-dom Μη έχων κατοικία καταγωγής (non-dom)
A Cyprus tax resident who is not domiciled in Cyprus, and is exempt for a period from the defence contribution on dividends and interest. It reached rents too until Law 245(I)/2025 took them out from 2026.
More on thisWhere to go next
Everything published is on the writing index, and the whole site is searchable on search.