Introduction: 1. The Cross-border Merger Directive has been transposed into the Cypriot legal order by Law 186(I)/2007, which was published on 31 December 2007. That piece of legislation amended the Cypriot Companies Law, Chapter 113 (the ‘CCL’) by inserting a new section on cross-border mergers (Arts. 201I–201X CCL). Scope of the new rules: 2. The new section applies to cross-border mergers of limited liability companies under the conditions that (i) at least one of the merging limited liability companies is a Cypriot company or the limited liability company resulting from the cross-border merger is a Cypriot company (Art. 201J(1) CCL), and (ii) at least one of the rest of the participating companies is subject to the jurisdiction of another European Economic Area Member State (Art. 201I CCL). Cross-border mergers are only possible between types of limited liability companies which may merge under the national law of the relevant Member States. Every Cypriot company may take part in a cross-border merger except (i) the limited liability companies by guarantee, and (ii) the companies subject to liquidation. A Cypriot company participating in such a merger must comply with the provisions and formalities of the CCL (Art. 201K CCL). It is worth noting that the Cyprus legislature chose not to exercise the option given by Article 3(2) of the Cross-border Merger Directive and therefore the new rules are applicable to cooperative societies falling within the definition of ‘limited liability company’ as laid down in Article 201I of the CCL.

Introduction 1. EC Regulation No 885/2004 of 26 April 2004 extends to Cyprus the application of Council Regulation No 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 on the Statute for a European company (the ‘Regulation’) and Council Directive 2001/86/EC of 8 October 2001 supplementing the Statue for a European company with regard to the involvement of employees (the ‘Directive’). The European Public Limited-Liability Company Regulations 2006 (the ‘EPLLC Regulations’) and Law 277(I)/2004 were introduced in order to harmonise Cypriot and Community law. Given that the European company (commonly referred to by its Latin name, Societas Europaea or SE) has only existed since mid-2006, there is as yet no Cypriot case law on the subject. As noted at no. 2 of the general report, the Regulation and the Directive apply throughout the European Economic Area (EEA), and references in this chapter to the European Union or to its Member States should be construed to include Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein. Application 2. Cyprus came under an obligation to bring its legislation into line with the Regulation and the Directive when it acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004. The EPLLC Regulations facilitate the application of the Regulation and were introduced via Section 387(1)(e) of the Cypriot Companies Law, Chapter 113 (the ‘CCL’).

Implementation and scope The original text of the Second Company Law Directive and the first amendment thereto introduced by Directive 92/101/EEC of 23 November 1992 have been transposed into the Cypriot legal order by means of Law 70(I)/2003, which was published and took effect on 11 July 2003, and Law 70(I)/2007, which was published and took effect on 22 June 2007. It should be recalled that the transposition deadline for Cyprus was 1 May 2004. The second wave of amendments effected by Directive 2006/68/EC of 6 September 2006 was implemented in Cyprus by Law 87(1)/2008, which was published and came into force on 17 October 2008. It is worth stressing that the deadline for the transposition of that Directive was 15 April 2008. The aforementioned domestic legislative measures have amended the Cypriot Companies Law (“CCL”), Chapter 113 and should therefore be read in conjunction with it. The scope of the Second Company Law Directive is limited to public limited liability companies (see no 1 of Chapter 1). In Cyprus, the Second Company Law Directive applies, first, to (public companies limited by shares) and, second, to (public companies limited by guarantee and having a share capital). Article 1(2) of the Second Company Law Directive provides Member States with the discretion to exclude from its scope of application investment companies with variable capital and cooperatives that take the form of a public limited liability company. The CCL does not contain such exclusions. The provisions discussed below apply therefore equally to the two aforementioned entities, unless it is otherwise provided for in the legislation specifically introduced to regulate them.

In Cyprus the title ‘practising advocate‘ (δ ι κ η γ ό ρ ο ς που ασκεί την δικηγορία in Greek) is, in principle, accorded to legal professionals who (i) are members of the Bar, (ii) possess an annual licence from the Cyprus Bar Association and (iii) pay their contributions to the Advocates Pension Fund. Those professionals can be self-employed, partners or associates in a law firm. Their status and activities are basically regulated by the Advocates’ Law Cap. 2 (hereinafter the Law) and the Advocates’ Code of Conduct Regulations of 2002 (hereinafter the Code). There exist six local bar associations (Nicosia, Limassol, Famagusta, Larnaca, Paphos and Kerynia) and one centralised, national bar association, namely the Cyprus Bar Association. The duty of secrecy in dealings and communications with clients (commonly referred to as ‘attorney—client privilege’) is exclusively imposed upon practising advocates as defined above. It does not therefore extend to those professionals who are not entitled to pursue their activities under that professional title. In-house lawyers may not be members of the Bar in Cyprus and the legal privilege is not therefore recognised for them. They are, of course, bound to respect the confidentiality clauses contained in their contract of employment; however, it is questionable whether those contractual constraints can validly be invoked by the in-house lawyer in order to refuse disclosure of information in court proceedings.

Advanced methods of electronic crime have developed in recent years and perpetrators’ motive remains mainly the gain of economic profit. The use of the internet and networks as tools to achieve their purpose and the disguise they offer, render their use ideal for the commission of a ‘perfect crime’. States and international organisations seem unable to respond equally fast or effectively to the danger of the development of new crimes. However, there is more awareness of the issues involved and legal measures and proposals have been advanced at EU-level and internationally.

This book provides an overview of recent and future legal developments concerning the digital era, to examine the extent to which law has or will further evolve in order to adapt to its new digitalized context. More specifically it focuses on some of the most important legal issues found in areas directly connected with the Internet, such as intellectual property, data protection, consumer law, criminal law and cybercrime, media law and, lastly, the enforcement and application of law. By adopting this horizontal approach, it highlights-on the basis of analysis and commentary of recent and future EU legislation as well as of the latest CJEU and ECtHR case law-the numerous challenges faced by law in this new digital era. This book is of great interest to academics, students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers specializing in Internet law, data protection, intellectual property, consumer law, media law and cybercrime as well as to judges dealing with the application and enforcement of Internet law in practice.

The infringement procedure of Article 258 TFEU has been consistently viewed by the EU administration and judges as a bipolar bargaining game between the European Commission and the defaulting member state, in which individuals have no role to play. The European Ombudsman’s efforts to triangularize the infraction process have resulted in the introduction of a number of soft-law, non-justiciable commitments for the Commission, which are currently set out in the 2012 Communication on its relations with complainants. This article considers the Ombudsman’s contribution in the field of infringement complaints by empirically examining the application of the principal provisions of the Commission’s Communication in his decision-making. The resulting finding is that Article 258 TFEU complainants have substantially benefited from the Ombudsman’s creativity beyond the tight constraints of legality. Points for practitioners: The analysis brings to the fore a number of key soft-law, non-justiciable commitments that the European Union administration is expected to honour in its everyday dealings with the European citizenry. The discussion also explores the transformative impact that extra-judicial means for the delivery of administrative justice can have on the ethos and praxis of supranational management. The European Commission’s reaction to the European Ombudsman’s investigative pressure and the resultant restraints on the former’s discretionary powers are useful lessons, which transcend the European Union context and could set the tone for relevant developments in the domestic spheres of the EU member states.

The present paper discusses recent evolutions in jurisprudence on online copyright law enforcement in Europe, emphasizing consequences for freedom of expression. It debates whether free speech is menaced by application of this case law. First, reference is made to the relevant case law at the European level. Secondly, the author refers to injunctions against intermediaries and concludes that the danger to freedom of expression has been identified and taken in account by the court. Finally, the author refers to the parallel jurisprudential evolution of copyright law related to hyperlinks and demonstrates that here the issue of freedom of expression has not been taken enough into consideration, something that may have disastrous consequences.

This paper examines online penny auctions, which currently attract consumer traffic but pose consumer risks also. It discusses pressing questions such as whether they are scams, entertainment shopping or gambling. It shows that though they cannot readily be considered as scams, they are suspiciously risky for consumers. Moreover, contrary to what penny auctioneers suggest, they do not allow for consumer shopping. They also share several characteristics with gambling and therefore, the possibility of legally classifying them as such is worth exploring. If they are not gambling, consumer protection legislation is fully applicable to them and can satisfactorily protect penny consumers. If penny auctions are legally classified as gambling however, protection will greatly be enhanced; they will (additionally) be subjected to strict and detailed gambling laws at least in the UK, where a mature gambling regulatory regime exists. Certain disadvantages of labeling penny auctions as gambling can relatively easily be remedied through suitably adjusting gambling laws. The paper concludes by suggesting possible approaches of legal regulation of this new online phenomenon.

This paper discusses the controversy surrounding the Data Retention Directive with an emphasis on the 2011 decision of the Cyprus Supreme Court which has annulled several district court orders that allowed the police access to telecommunications data relating to certain persons relevant to criminal investigations. The annulment has been on the ground that the legal provisions upon which the orders have been issued are unconstitutional. It will suggest that the decision does not entail a direct rejection of the EU Data Retention Directive and that in any event, Cyprus is not a Member State resisting the particular measure. This is because the legal provisions are deemed unconstitutional, though part of the law that has transposed the relevant Directive into national law are provisions that go beyond what the EU legislator intended to regulate through that Directive. Still, the particular Directive sits rather uneasily within the ‘human rights’ regime, in particular the one governing the individual right of privacy.

Notwithstanding the ever increasing influence of the European Ombudsman upon the administrative worldview of the EU bureaucracy and despite the resulting growth of literature on his functions and mission, there seems to be disproportionally limited reflection of the intricacies related to the workings of his remedial machinery. An informed appraisal of the European Ombudsman's role in the institutional universe of the Union requires, however, adequate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his remedial apparatus and appreciation of the delicate institutional context within which he operates. The central concern of this article is to discuss the most prominent and pivotal aspects of the European Ombudsman's remedial scheme through a concise empirical analysis. The findings will provide useful guidance to the Ombudsman's remedial performance thus far.

The proposal for a directive on certain aspects of contracts for the supply of digital content and the proposal for a directive on certain aspects of contracts for the online and other distance sale of goods were presented by the European Commission, in December 2015, as a “modified proposal” for the Regulation on a Common European Sales Law (pCESL) aiming to fully harmonise in a targeted way the key mandatory rights and obligations of the parties to a contract for the supply of digital content and the online sales of goods. This chapter examines, using a three-perspective comparative analysis, to which extent the European Commission by bringing forward these proposals has actually moved away from the pCESL project and started again and, if it has done so, whether these proposals as they currently stand form an adequate replacement for the rebirth of a truly digital European Contract Law.

This chapter discusses the importance of copyright law enforcement as a prerequisite for the emergence of a digital single market. It firstly analyzes the reasons for the current crisis in copyright law enforcement and focuses on the role of Internet intermediaries in this context. The question is examined of whether the Internet intermediary’s liability should have been abandoned 15 years ago with the enactment of the E-commerce Directive, whereby the intermediaries’ safe harbor was established. However, this chapter shows that the law itself, together with an audacious jurisprudential interpretation, leads in practice to the application of a fault-based approach to Internet intermediaries’ liability. As this evolution is obviously not sufficient to resolve the issue of online enforcement of copyright law, this analysis is supplemented by the emerging topic of gag orders. This method, combined with the trends in case law related to pan-European judicial orders, despite being incomplete, nowadays offers the most promising solution towards effective copyright law enforcement.

This chapter discusses the importance of copyright law enforcement as a prerequisite for the emergence of a digital single market. It firstly analyzes the reasons for the current crisis in copyright law enforcement and focuses on the role of Internet intermediaries in this context. The question is examined of whether the Internet intermediary’s liability should have been abandoned 15 years ago with the enactment of the E-commerce Directive, whereby the intermediaries’ safe harbor was established. However, this chapter shows that the law itself, together with an audacious jurisprudential interpretation, leads in practice to the application of a fault-based approach to Internet intermediaries’ liability. As this evolution is obviously not sufficient to resolve the issue of online enforcement of copyright law, this analysis is supplemented by the emerging topic of gag orders. This method, combined with the trends in case law related to pan-European judicial orders, despite being incomplete, nowadays offers the most promising solution towards effective copyright law enforcement.

Αναγκαστική Απαλλοτρίωση. Ο λόγος που οδήγησε τον γράφοντα στη Νομική Επιστήμη, στα 33 του έτη. Έχοντας μελετήσει το έργο του Κ. Χορομίδη « Το Δίκαιο της Αναγκαστικής Απαλλοτρίωσης» και έχοντας θητεύσει δίπλα σε έναν μάχιμο δικηγόρο που για περισσότερα από 40 έτη αντιδικούσε με το Ελληνικό Δημόσιο προς υπεράσπιση των ιδιωτικών συμφερόντων των πολιτών, το έργο αυτό έρχεται να αναδείξει τις παθογένειες του Κώδικα Αναγκαστικών Απαλλοτριώσεων με την ελπίδα να γίνει η αφορμή για γενναίες αλλαγές που θα αντιστρέψουν το πνεύμα αδικίας. Η αναγκαστική απαλλοτρίωση αποτελεί το μέσο εκείνο που δίνει το δικαίωμα στο κράτος να περιορίσει το δικαίωμα της ατομικής ιδιοκτησίας έναντι του Δημοσίου συμφέροντος. Μέσω του άρθρου 17 του Συντάγματος, ορίζεται η προστασία της ατομικής ιδιοκτησίας και το δικαίωμα του κράτους να προχωρά σε αναγκαστικές απαλλοτριώσεις για λόγους δημόσιας ωφέλειας. Ο νόμος 2882/2001 αποτελεί το ειδικότερο νομοθέτημα μέσω του οποίου ο κοινός νομοθέτης έχει ορίσει την διαδικασία μέσω της οποίας κηρύσσεται και συντελείτε η αναγκαστική απαλλοτρίωση. Μετά από εικοσαετή ενασχόληση με το δίκαιο της αναγκαστικής απαλλοτρίωσης ένεκα απαλλοτριώσεων για μεγάλα Δημόσια έργα ( Ολυμπία Οδός, Τρένο, ΔΕΗ κλπ), μέσω της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής, ο γράφοντας σκοπεύει να αναδείξει τις παθογένειες και τις αδικίες του συγκεκριμένου νομοθετήματος, αλλά και των Ελληνικών πολιτικών Δικαστηρίων των οποίων οι αποφάσεις έχουν κριθεί κατ’ επανάληψη από το ΕΔΔΑ, όσον αφορά την εσφαλμένη ερμηνεία όσον αφορά την απόδοση της πλήρους αποζημίωσης ενός άπαλλοτριωθέντος ακινήτου. Αρχικά, γίνεται παρουσίαση της έννοιας της ιδιοκτησίαςκαι της απαλλοτρίωσης αλλά και των σχετικών όρων που προσομοιάζουν με αυτή αλλά δεν είναι. Ακολούθως γίνεται παρουσίαση και ανάλυση της αντιμετώπισης της απαλλοτρίωσης όπως την αναγνωρίζει το διεθνές δίκαιο σε σχέση με διαφορές που δημιουργήθηκαν από αναγκαστικές απαλλοτριώσεις που έγιναν από κράτη εις βάρος μεγάλων ιδιωτικών εταιριών λόγω της αλλαγής του καθεστώτος που κυβερνούσε την εκάστοτε χώρα. Ακολούθως, παρουσιάζεται η νομολογία του ΕΔΔΑ όσον αφορά την προστασία της ιδιοκτησίας ως ανθρώπινο δικαίωμα. Περαιτέρω αναπτύσσεται η έννοια της πλήρους αποζημίωσης τόσο σε διεθνές και εθνικό επίπεδο αφού αυτή αποτελεί την κυριότερη πράξη ανταπόδοσης εις βάρος του καθ’ ου η απαλλοτρίωση. Συνεχίζοντας γίνεται μεθοδολογική ερμηνεία του άρθρου 17 του Συντάγματος που σχετίζεται με την συνταγματική ρύθμιση περί της Αναγκαστικής Απαλλοτρίωσης. Το επόμενο ζήτημα που ασχολείται είναι η σχέση του χρόνου όσον αφορά τον καθορισμό της αποζημίωσης. Ο καθορισμός της οριστικής τιμής μονάδας στηρίζεται στον χρόνο που δικάζει το δευτεροβάθμιο δικαστήριο γεγονός το οποίο έχει δημιουργήσει πολλά προβλήματα κάτι που απασχόλησε και το ΕΔΔΑ. Ακολούθως παρουσιάζεται η αρχή non refermatio in pejus στο δίκαιο των αναγκαστικών απαλλοτριώσεων. Το επόμενο κρίσιμο ζήτημα σχετίζεται με τον ν. 653/1977, ο Έλληνας νομοθέτης εισάγαγε ένα αμάχητο τεκμήριο ωφελείας βάση του οποίου, όταν γινόταν ένας δρόμος οι παρόδιοι ιδιοκτήτες στερούνταν την ιδιοκτησία τους χωρίς να λάβουν αποζημίωση, εφόσον σε αυτούς απέμενε έκταση καθώς αυτή αποκτούσε υπεραξία που κάλυπτε την αξία της αποζημίωσης. Το τεκμήριο αυτό δεν δεχόταν αμφισβήτησης. Το ΕΔΔΑ με δύο αποφάσεις του ανέτρεψε το τεκμήριο αυτό, καθώς έκρινε ότι παραβιάζει το άρθρο 1 του πρώτου πρόσθετου πρωτοκόλλου. Το 2001 η Ελλάδα προχώρησε σε τροποποίηση του νόμου και κατέστησε το τεκμήριο αυτό μαχητό, προβλέποντας μια περίπλοκη και κοστοβόρο διαδικασία σε βάρος αυτού που βαρύνεται με απαλλοτρίωση και ελεκτέο μόνο σε δεύτερο βαθμό από το δικάζον Εφετείο. Κατά την άποψη του γράφοντος το τεκμήριο αυτό είναι αντισυνταγματικό καθώς θίγει τόσο προστατευόμεναδικαιώματα από την ΕΣΔΑ αλλά και το Σύνταγμα. Περαιτέρω το ΕΔΔΑ με άλλη απόφαση του έκρινε ότι η δίκη της αναγκαστικής απαλλοτρίωσης πρέπει να είναι ενιαία και να κρίνονται όλα τα ζητήματα από τον πρώτο βαθμό. Τέλος, γίνεται ανάλυση των προβλημάτων που δημιουργούνται κατά την αναγνώριση δικαιούχων σε αναγκαστική απαλλοτρίωση όταν το Ελληνικό Δημόσιο προβάλλει δικαιώματα επί του απαλλοτριούμενου ακινήτου, μετά την αντίστοιχη θέση του Αρείου Πάγου περί θεώρησης της διαφοράς ως εμπραγμάτου και όχι ως ενοχικής.

Ελέω της ευρωπαϊκής κρίσης χρέους του 2010, έχει αναζωογονηθεί η ρητορική πως το ζήτημα της κρατικής πτώχευσης πρέπει να επαφίεται αποκλειστικά στους ειδικούς, δηλαδή τους οικονομολόγους, οι οποίοι θα πρέπει να μονοπωλούν επί των αναλύσεων και λύσεων του συγκεκριμένου ζητήματος. Η συγκεκριμένη διπλωματική εργασία επιδιώκει να αποδείξει πως το δίκαιο και η νομική επιστήμη, στην πραγματικότητα κρατούν τα πρωτεία επί της άμεσης επίλυσης μιας κρατικής πτώχευσης και κυρίως επί της, καθοριστικής σημασίας, διαδικασίας αναδιάρθρωσης του δημοσίου χρέους. Τέλος, η εργασία αυτή φιλοδοξεί να δώσει στον αναγνώστη της μια ευρύτερη εικόνα της κρατικής πτώχευσης εξερευνώντας την μακραίωνη ιστορία καθώς και τις σύγχρονες συζητήσεις περί αυτού του ζητήματος, που διεξάγονται στον Δυτικό ακαδημαϊκό κόσμο.

Η ενέργεια με όλες τις μορφές της, αποτελεί αναμφίβολα αγαθό και υπηρεσία υψίστης σημασίας, αφενός για την επιβίωση και αφετέρου για την οικονομική, πολιτισμική και κοινωνική εξέλιξη του ανθρώπου διαμέσου των αιώνων. Στη σύγχρονη εποχή, η αναζήτηση και εκμετάλλευση των πηγών που θα παρέχουν επαρκή ενέργεια σε μια συνεχώς αυξανόμενη σε πληθυσμό παγκόσμια κοινωνία, ο τρόπος διαχείρισης της σε συνδυασμό με τη διεθνή ανησυχία για το κλίμα εξαιτίας των αέριων εκπομπών που εκλύονται από τη χρήση ορυκτών καυσίμων, καθώς και η ανάγκη κάθε χώρας για διασφάλιση συνεχούς και φθηνής ενέργειας, συνθέτουν ένα σύγχρονο μωσαϊκό ενεργειακών προκλήσεων. Αποτέλεσμα, ήταν να θεσμοθετηθούν νομικοί κανόνες αναφορικά με την πρόσβαση στα μέσα παραγωγής / πηγές ενέργειας καθώς και στην παραγωγή και εμπορία ενέργειας. Οι κανόνες αυτοί σχεδιάστηκαν, ώστε να αντιμετωπίσουν ζητήματα σχετικά με την προστασία του υγιούς ανταγωνισμού, την ανάγκη μη διακριτικής μεταχείρισης, την προσβασιμότητα σε πηγές και δίκτυα ενέργειας, την προστασία του καταναλωτή, την ποιότητα και προσιτότητα των υπηρεσιών, την προστασία του περιβάλλοντος και την αειφόρο ανάπτυξη. H εύρεση, κτήση και εκμετάλλευση των πηγών ενέργειας ενδιαφέρει κατεξοχήν το Δίκαιο, σε διεθνές, ενωσιακό και εθνικό επίπεδο, λόγω της παγκόσμιας διάστασης της σπουδαιότητας της ενέργειας για την κοινωνία, την οικονομία και τη γεωπολιτική. Εχει αυτονομηθεί ένας διακριτός κλάδος Δικαίου, το Δίκαιο της Ενέργειας, το οποίο περαιτέρω διακρίνεται (στο πλαίσιο μιάς φθίνουσας κλίμακας εύρους διεθνικότητας) σε Διεθνές Δίκαιο της Ενέργειας, σε Ενωσιακό Δίκαιο της Ενέργειας και σε Εθνικό Δίκαιο της Ενέργειας.