One of the most senior lawyers in Cyprus, who has been at the forefront of his profession for many years and has contributed to the influential development of law in many fields. In an exclusive interview, he talks about the legal profession, his views on recent legal developments in our country and the forthcoming presidential election.

How long have you been practicing law and when did you decide to become a lawyer?

I was called to the English Bar in 1968. After a short period of practice in London, I joined my father at his office in Cyprus, in 1970, and, ever since, I have been actively and uninterruptedly practicing law in this country, dealing mainly with civil law and, more particularly, with commercial disputes.

My acquaintance with the law was made at an early stage of my life. As a little boy, I used to frequent my father’s office in my spare time and during holidays. I thoroughly enjoyed attending his meetings with his clients and colleagues, when they were discussing legal matters. I always liked arguing and, many a time, I would pretend to be a lawyer whilst playing. I remember myself, often in the evenings when my parents were out, standing in front of the mirror wearing my father’s court robes and delivering passionate speeches to imaginary juries! So, I can say that my decision to become a lawyer came naturally in the course of my destiny, rather than after elaborate thought.

Are you satisfied with your choice and do you like what you do?

Absolutely! I consider myself very lucky because I love my job and derive pleasure from doing it. I get what you can call job satisfaction, despite the hard work and the difficulties that I often encounter. I consider this very important for a balanced life. In my job, I do not do something which I dislike or that makes me unhappy in order to earn a living, while looking, all the time, impatiently at the clock for the end of my working time. For this reason, I work much longer than ordinary working hours and I often continue working at home in the evenings or during weekends. I am sure that if I now had to choose a profession, I would certainly come to the same decision.

What personal qualities should someone have in order to be a suc­cessful lawyer?

It is not enough merely to study law and to obtain a degree. You must also have the ability to comprehend the various legal principles that you have learned and to apply them. For this, you need to have common sense and an analytical mind. The law is like mathematics. You analyse the principles and draw your conclusions. On the other hand, you must have a very good command of the language and an ability to deliver thoughts in simple words and in a persuasive manner. Some eminent jurists proved very poor advocates, whilst lawyers without so much knowledge of the law made excellent advocates with their delivery and persuasive talents. But, this is not all. A good lawyer must have many more qualities that are even more important.

One has to be, primarily, fair and honest; just like a doctor should tell his patient what he is suffering from and what would be the best cure for him. A lawyer should never in a doubtful case, pushing the client light-heartedly into costly litigation, merely to extract more fees from him. Before such a course of action, he should always explore the possibility of an amicable out-of-court settlement, bearing in mind that the final outcome of a court battle can never be accurately foreseen. Finally, I would not fail to add that he must always be ready to stand firmly on his feet and to fight for what he believes to be right for his client, with all of his might and without fear of the power or high authority that his opponent may have.

You are known as a person who has ren­dered legal services to Russian interests over a long period of time. Would you like to comment on this?

 

Yes, this is correct. Back in the eighties, I helped in the acquisition of the plot of land where the Embassy of the Russian Federation now stands, with very favourable terms. I also handled, successfully, a substantial claim for extras that was submitted by the contractors who had undertaken the construction of the Embassy building. I have acted for Professor Feodorov and his medical team in a bid for a permit to perform thousands of eye operations on board a hospitalship, which was allowed anchorage in the Port of Larnaca, despite strong objections from the establishment and local professionals. With the then Ambassador Muratov, we managed to obtain a longterm license from the authorities for the possession and use of the building, which now houses the Russian School in Nicosia. From all of the other cases that I can remember, I would make special mention of my role in the donation of a piece of land in Limassol to the Russian Church, by the Archbishopric of Cyprus, for the erection of a Russian Orthodox Church. For this, I received a personal letter of thanks from Patriarch Kyril, himself.

Apart from the State, I have dealt with many cases of Russian individuals in a variety of matters, extending from assistance for their residence permits or issuing of title deeds for land that they had bought to the registration of companies and drafting of agreements for business transactions, as well as litigation services when disputes arose. In this respect, you can easily say that I have been Russian-friendly over a very long period.

What do you think about the newly registered Russian political party?

Although what they did is perfectly lawful, I totally disagree with this move, especially when it has been initiated by people who have been living here for a long period of time and who have not cared to even learn the language of this country or to integrate in our society and our culture. We must differentiate between an association of a foreign community for the protection of their rights and a political party aiming, ultimately, to come to power in order to rule the country that offers its hospitality.

In the former situation, the Russian community has my full support. I, myself, time and again, have spoken against the exploitation of Russians in Cyprus who, unfortunately, are looked upon (by some of us) like cows ready to be milked. I am sure that you, yourself, must have realised that some local people offering various services have one price for the Cypriots and a much higher price for Russians. There is also their exploitation by developers, who sell them properties with no possibility for a title deed or even professionals who lure them to register companies here, promising them full anonymity, while knowing that such a thing does not exist.

Personally, I have witnessed many such instances in the course of my practice that do not make me feel particularly proud of some of my countrymen. I would, therefore, be very happy to see an organised association that, in cooperation with the authorities and honest professionals, would protect such innocent people by furthering their rights under the law. They should be treated in the same manner as all citizens, local and expatriate.

Many politicians have a legal education and background. Have you ever thought of going into politics and why didn’t you do it?

I don’t agree that the law and politics go together. The law is something that has to do with the truth. Politics, as it came to be in our times, has very little to do with it. I also disagree that most politicians have legal or even any education in the true sense of the word, which is something much more than a university degree. In my opinion, politics should be based on virtue and it is something which goes far beyond the mere desire to ascent to power and enjoy the benefits that accrue from it for us, our families and friends. For me, a politician should be someone who, with this skill and knowledge, has succeeded in his life and desires to give and share, with his fellow citizens, his expertise and ideas. In short, he must be a giver to the people. On the other hand, you have a person who has never proved himself in the society in which he lives, but has, instead, joined a political party and, through servility and flattery of the leaders, manages to creep to the top, from where he enjoys a good life. This person is a taker, not a giver.

A politician must, also, always tell the people the truth, however unpleasant it may be, and not confine himself to whatever they want to hear, in return of their votes. He must be a leader, leading the people according to his ideas, and not be led by the masses in order to retain his position. My ideas on politics coincide more with the ideas expressed by Plato and Aristotle and the more modern writers of the enlightenment than with what prevails in our time almost anywhere in the world, where politicians are more takers than givers; moving between populism and compromise and aiming to serve themselves and their own interests, rather than those of their people and countries.

I am not prepared to compromise my ideas for any position and, therefore, although I like politics very much, I always stayed away from it. On this, I often boast that I am the only Cypriot who has never held or sought any office in politics, low or high. Finally, I would point out that power is a heavy and dirty load that can corrupt even the most honest person in the world. Therefore, a good politician should be able to quit office as soon as he feels that he has said and given all that he had to do and say. Five or so years are much more than enough to do that, if he really means business. If he stays longer, he should know that whatever good name he might have established will be destroyed and he will pass into history with a stained gown.

The Presidential election is coming soon. What do you expect to come out of it?

I do not really expect much, apart from a possible change of faces. There are about four main candidates. The policies and programmes of each one of them revolve around slogans and empty words, rather than real policies. I, personally, doubt whether they, themselves, believe what they say and they know well enough that even if they do, they cannot implement it. In the first round, two of them will re­main and each one will try to obtain the support of the losers with whom, politically, they differ diametrically; in return for ministry positions and other high spots in the government. You can imagine what kind of government will exist and what policies will be implemented if they differ so much in their ideas. This, unfortunately, has been happening in Cyprus for years and, judging by the results, this system doesn’t seem to work so well for the people. There is no room for compromise in opposite policies. If I believe that 2 and 2 makes 4 and you believe that 2 and 2 makes 7 and we both compromise that they make 5, we are both wrong and we are both inconsistent towards ourselves and the people. In this respect, we need a drastic change. In my opinion, we should not have a second round. In such cases, the President should be the person with the highest number of votes in one round, irrespective of the fact that they may fall short of 50%. At least we shall have a homogenous government, with a programme of its own.

What do you think about the future of your country?

You ask a very difficult question, which cannot be answered summarily. Personally, I would like to believe that Cyprus has a future and it will have a chance for a good future if we try to understand our many problems, down to their core, and try

to solve them with logic and realism, away from extremities, sterile nationa­lism, empty slogans and big dreams that cannot materialise. Unfortunately, for many reasons, we have made many mistakes in our recent history, but we don’t like to admit them and, therefore, we cannot derive lessons from them. This applies to both of the main ethnic communities, Greeks and Turkish alike. At the point we have reached, both communities must understand that they must accept and trust each other and get together, away from extraneous interventions and influences, to rebuild what, with their folly, has been demolished and, hand-in-hand, walk into the future within the European Union.

“Three sketches of Lucian Freud” by Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon was an English expressionist painter and a master of figurative painting. His triptych, in 2013, became the most expensive work of art in the world. “Three sketches of Lucian Freud” was sold at Christie’s auction for a record sum of 142 million dollars.

The triptych, created by the artist in 1969, was auctioned for the first time at a pre-sale estimate of 85 million dollars. Bidding lasted only six minutes and the auction house did not disclose the identity of the buyer. Each part of the triptych has the same size of 198×147.5 cm. Each canvas depicts Lucien Freud in different poses, while seated on a chair is the artist Lucien Freud. The background is orange-brown, which is brighter than normal for the works of Bacon.

“Number 5” by Jackson Pollock
“Number 5” was completed in 1948 and utilised the technique of spraying, which is the corporate style of the artist. The picture size is 243.8×121.9 cm and is mounted on fibreboard (hardboard).

In 2006, at an auction organised by the auction house Sotheby’s, it was sold for 140 million dollars. It is believed that the hype surrounding this painting was created artificially. All of the paintings of Jackson Pollock were presented in museums and sold freely. Yet, “Number 5” was hidden and shown only when all of the other artworks were sold.

Consequently, the price of the painting went up to the heavens and broke many records. The original painting was in a private collection and was then exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It then became the property of producer David Geffen. Who sold it for $ 140 million? According to unconfirmed reports, it was a famous Mexican billionaire.