Cyprus: Lawyers to face price-fixing charge

A new organisation calling itself ‘Fairness in Fees’ is preparing to challenge what it says is a price-fixing practice followed by lawyers in Cyprus.

The London-based group has commissioned competition law expert Robert O’Donoghue, of Brick Court Chambers who argues that the Cyprus Bar Association’s so-called minimum fee regulations – a set of rules mandating the minimum lawyers can charge for out-of-court cases – are in clear breach of the price-fixing and cartel provisions of Article 101 of the European Treaty and therefore of European law.

“The minimum fee regulations set out formulae for calculating lawyers’ fees irrespective of the time spent or the complexity of the matter,” said Fairness in Fees founder George Lambis. “This is believed to be unique within the EU.”

Under the CBA’s regulations, a straight-forward out-of-court execution of a will in which property of €1 million is to be distributed among the beneficiaries would incur €56,000 in legal fees.

Fairness in Fees plan to submit a formal complaint to the European Competition Commission, whose decision will take a few months.

Full content: Cyprus Property News

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.