50 Appeals Filed at Supreme Court Against Eurogroup's Decision For Cyprus

Block Gavel (Photo credit: Diacritical)

The plenary of the Supreme Court ordered here today all appeals against the implementation of a Eurogroup decision on Cypriot banks to be filed within the next ten days. The number of petitions exceeds fifty. At the same time, two interim orders suspending the implementation of the Eurogroup decisions for the Bank of Cyprus and the Cyprus Popular bank have been annulled.

A number of individuals have appealed against the implementation of provisions included in an agreement for a Cyprus bailout, reached between Eurozone Finance Ministers and the Cypriot Authorities on March 26. The 10 bln euros deal foresees that CPB, the island’s second largest bank, splits into a “good” and a “bad" bank. The bank’s “good” assets are being transferred to Bank of Cyprus, where a massive haircut is being imposed on uninsured deposits of more than 100,000 euros.

Two judges excluded themselves from the process, due to their relationship to plaintiffs. Supreme Court President Petros Artemi, although related to former Bank of Cyprus Board Chairman Andreas Artemi, said he had no problem to hear the case, with those present agreeing with him.

Announcing the court’s decision regarding the annulment of the interim orders, Artemi said that the plenary agrees with the Attorney General’s argumentation, who said that “justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done”.

The Supreme Court plenary decided the process to continue on April 23.

Famagusta Gazette