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Cyprus Family Law: Spouse's claim for contribution in post-marital acquisitions

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by Giorgos Kazoleas, Lawyer* The regulation of property issues between spouses after divorce or separation is one of the main problems and is most commonly related with the issue of the contribution of one spouse to the increase in the other’s property. According to Cypriot Family Law, in the event that the marriage is dissolved or annulled, or in the event of separation of the spouses, in case the property of one spouse has increased, the other spouse, if he/she contributed in any way to this increase, is entitled to bring an action before the Court and demand the return of the part of the increase that comes from his/her own contribution.[1] The contribution of one spouse to the increase in the property of the other is presumed to amount to one third of the increase, unless a greater or lesser contribution is proven.[2] “Contribution” means any form of contribution by the spouses to the acquisition or creation of property and includes the care of the family home and family memb...
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Two prisoners punished for singing anthems and reading out poems in prison: Violation of the freedom of expression

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In Chamber's judgment in the case of Mehmet Çiftçi and Suat İncedere v. Turkey (applications nos. 21266/19 and 21774/19) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights.  The case concerned the sanction of one month’s deprivation of means of communication imposed on the applicants by the prison management for singing anthems and reading out poems (in December 2016) in memory of the prisoners who had lost their lives during the “Return to life” operation conducted by the authorities in prisons in December 2000.  The Court found that the disciplinary sanction imposed on the applicants constituted interference with their right to freedom of expression. It held that, notwithstanding the mildness of the sanction imposed on the applicants, the Government had not demonstrated that the reasons cited by the national authorities as justification for the measure complai...
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The civil courts did not violate the right of access to a court by refusing a document which had not been submitted in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure

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In Chamber judgment in the case of Efstratiou and Others v. Greece (application no. 53221/14) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been no violation of Article 6 (right to a fair trial / right of access to a court) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The applicants in this case considered that the refusal by the court of appeal and the Court of Cassation to take account of evidence which they considered as decisive for the outcome of the case had been excessively formalistic. Those courts had considered that the documents in question had not been presented to the court of appeal in accordance with the requirements of Article 240 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure. The Court held, in particular, that the statement given by a witness for the applicants at the hearing before the court of appeal, had fairly accurately reflected the substance of the document (a sworn statement), which the court of appeal had dismissed on the grounds that it ha...
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The struggle for truth against time and limitation period in the light of two paternity court cases

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By George Kazoleas, Lawyer Two recent cases, one by the European Court of Human Rights and the other by the Athens Court of First Instance with similar facts, show once again that justice can dispel the darkness caused by human deceit having as a result the distortion of real facts. Against time and limitation Time, was essentially the reason why the courts in Serbia denied the 50-year-old Peda Boljevic the right to know the truth about who his biological father was. Until 2011 he believed that A was his real father but when he died, Boljevic discovered in old court rulings around 1970 that A could not be his biological father. So, at the beginning of 2012, he filed a lawsuit with his mother, invoking the old decisions by also adding the argument that back then there was no DNA test, but today this could be done based on a court decree. The courts in Serbia, both the court of first instance and the court of appeals, rejected his application as lapsed, after so many years. In particular...
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Consumer credit agreements: In the event of failure to comply with the obligation to provide information, a bank may be deprived of its right to interest

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The Court of Justice in its Judgment in Case C-472/23 (Lexitor) regarding the consumer credit agreements, ruled that, in the event of failure to comply with the obligation to provide information, a bank may be deprived of its right to interest.  This may be the case even where the individual seriousness of the infringement of that obligation and its consequences for the consumer are likely to vary from case to case. Lexitor is a Polish debt collection agency to which a consumer assigned rights arising from a credit agreement concluded with a bank. That company claims that the bank failed to fulfil its obligation to provide information to the consumer when the agreement was concluded. It brought an action before a Polish court seeking payment from the bank of a sum of money corresponding to the interest and charges paid by that consumer.  In supports of its claim, Lexitor submits, first, that the annual percentage rate of charge (APRC [1]) was overstated; in its view, one of th...
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ECtHR Judgement against Greece: Disclosure of the identities and medical data of prostitutes diagnosed with HIV was a breach of their right to private life

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The case of O.G. and Others v. Greece (applications nos. 71555/12 and 48256/13) concerned the publication, by decision of the domestic authorities, of medical data concerning prostitutes who had been diagnosed as HIV-positive, and media coverage of them. It also concerned the circumstances in which they were required to undergo a blood test.  In Chamber 's judgment(23.1.2024) in this case the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been two violations:  -A violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, with regard to two applicants, on account of the blood tests they had been required to undertake.  The Court considered that the blood samples imposed on two applicants had amounted to an interference with their private life and noted that this had not been in accordance with the law within the meaning of Article 8 of the Convention, given that the provisions of domestic law in issue ought to h...
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Greek Administrative Court rules state liable for Covid-19 vaccine side effects due to "excessive sacrifice"

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Greece: The Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens, in its decision no. 4202/2025, has ruled that the Greek State is liable for damages sustained by an individual due to side effects following a preventive "COVID-19" vaccination. This landmark decision was issued in a compensation lawsuit filed against the Hellenic Republic. The Case: Seeking Compensation for Vaccine-Related Harm The lawsuit was brought by a plaintiff seeking compensation for material damage and moral harm (non-pecuniary damage), alleging that they suffered severe side effects after their preventive COVID-19 vaccination with a specific vaccine. The initial claim was for €461,835.26, but this amount was subsequently restricted during the proceedings. The plaintiff based their claim on two legal grounds: Article 105 of the Introductory Law of the Civil Code (EισNAK): This article concerns the State's liability for compensation arising from illegal acts or omissions of its organs in the exe...
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