Cyprus - Andreas Neocleous & Co

CYP/2
INTERNATIONAL AGENCY AND DISTRIBUTION LAW
which the legality of administrative decisions can be judicially controlled has
been introduced and applied by virtue of the Constitution.
The administration of justice is exercised by the judiciary, which is a separate
and independent body. There are six District Courts which exercise civil
jurisdiction, and recourse for judicial review is to the Supreme Court. The
Supreme Court hears all appeals and is empowered to pronounce final judgment
in all cases of constitutional and administrative law.
General Environment for Agents and Distributors
Although agency and distribution law are relatively new areas of Cyprus law,
the continuous development of the island's economy has made them very
significant.
Sections 142–198 of the Contract Law, Cap. 149 ("the Contract Law") are the
general legislative provisions governing this area of the law and essentially
reflect common law. English common law principles are applicable where no
express statutory provisions are made and also offer much guidance in
interpreting the provisions of the Contract Law.
The legal framework with respect to commercial agents has been improved by
two further pieces of legislation which are generally in line with EU legislation,
namely:
• The Commercial Agents Law ("the Commercial Agents Law"), as amended
by Laws 21(I) of 1994 and 148(I) of 2000; and
• The Regulation of Relations between Commercial Agents and Principals
Law, Number 51(I) of 1992 ("the Regulation of Relations Law"), as amended
by Law 149(I) of 2000.
In addition, on the basis of section 13 of the Commercial Agents Law, the
Council of Ministers issued the Commercial Agents (Formation and Functioning
of the Board, Registration of Members and Charges) (Amending) Regulations of
2003, which came into force on 1 May 2004.
What Is 'Agent'
In General
At common law the word agency is used to describe the body of general rules
under which one person, the agent, has the power to change the legal relations of
another, the principal.
Section 142 of the Contract Law defines an agent as: 'a person employed to do
any act for another, the principal, or to represent the principal in dealings with
third parties'.
The most important areas of law dealing with the power of the agent to bind the
principal are the law of contract and the law of property. An agent may have
(Release 2 – 2013)