Cyprus District Courts: Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Famagusta (Contacts, Jurisdiction and Judgments)

Cyprus district courts at a glance

Source: DIKIGOROS AI index, September 2026 (civil and criminal district court judgments as published on CyLaw).

Every one of these judgments is searchable in English or Greek in DIKIGOROS AI, filtered to a single district. You can try DIKIGOROS AI free for 14 days at dikigoros.ai, no card required.

What are the district courts in Cyprus?

Cyprus has six district courts, one for each administrative district: Nicosia, Famagusta, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Kyrenia. Since the Turkish invasion of 1974, the Famagusta District Court sits temporarily in Paralimni and the Kyrenia District Court sits in Nicosia.

Each district court hears, at first instance, every civil dispute that the law does not send to a specialised court. The specialised courts are the Family Courts, the Rent Control Courts, the Labour Disputes Courts (Δικαστήρια Εργατικών Διαφορών) and the Military Court. On the criminal side, district courts try offences punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.

The legal basis is the Courts of Justice Law 14/1960 (Ο περί Δικαστηρίων Νόμος του 1960), as amended. For how the district courts fit with the Supreme Court, the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Court of Appeal after the 2023 changes, see our guide to the Cyprus court system after the 2023 reform.

What cases can a Cyprus district court hear?

Civil jurisdiction and monetary limits

A district court case is heard by one judge. How large a claim that judge may hear depends on rank, under section 22 of Law 14/1960:

Actions to recover possession of land, and certain claims in tort over land, have their own rules in section 22(3)(b).

Which district court? In general a claim is filed where the cause of action arose, wholly or partly, or where a defendant lives or carries on business (section 21(1)). A claim about the partition, sale or any other matter concerning land must be filed in the district where the land lies (section 21(2)), although claims for rent arrears or damages for breach of a sale or lease contract can still follow the general rule. A 2023 amendment added a useful default: where Cyprus courts have jurisdiction only because of EU law, international or private international law, or the Civil Procedure Rules 2023, the competent court is the Nicosia District Court unless another rule applies (section 21(3A)). If a claim is filed in the wrong district, the court can transfer it to the right one (section 21(4)).

Civil procedure in the district courts follows the Civil Procedure Rules 2023 for claims filed from 1 September 2023, and the old Civil Procedure Rules for older cases. Our guide to the Cyprus Civil Procedure Rules 2023 explains the main changes.

Criminal jurisdiction

Under section 24 of Law 14/1960, every district judge, whatever the rank, may try summarily any offence punishable by up to five years' imprisonment. The court may also order a convicted person to pay compensation to the victim of up to €6,000. With the consent of the Attorney General, a district judge may also try a more serious offence summarily, if satisfied that this is appropriate given the circumstances and the adequacy of the sentences the district court can impose; the sentence cannot then exceed those limits.

The Assize Courts (Κακουργιοδικεία)

Offences carrying more than five years go to the Assize Court of the district. An Assize Court sits with three judges: a District Court President, who presides, and two Senior District Judges or District Judges (section 5). It can also order compensation of up to €10,000 to a victim. Assize Court judgments are published alongside district court judgments on CyLaw and carry their own ECLI codes (KDLEF, KDLEM, KDLAR, KDPAF, KDAMM).

What about the Commercial Court and the Admiralty Court?

Law 69(I)/2022 created a Commercial Court (Εμπορικό Δικαστήριο) for commercial disputes above €2 million, and for competition, intellectual property and arbitration-related disputes of any value, and an Admiralty Court (Ναυτοδικείο) for admiralty matters. A judge of either court may allow proceedings and the judgment to be in English.

Their jurisdiction does not start with the Law itself. Under section 32, each court takes over only when the Supreme Court publishes a notice in the Official Gazette that it is constituted and ready to operate; until then, section 33 keeps commercial disputes and admiralty matters with the district courts.

• Admiralty Court: the notice was published in August 2026, and the court is ready to operate from 5 October 2026, sitting in the premises currently used by the Court of Appeal. Admiralty claims filed from that date go there.
• Commercial Court: as at the end of September 2026 no start date had been announced, so high-value commercial claims are still filed in the district courts. Check the Official Gazette before filing.

Where do appeals from the district courts go?

Since the judicial reform took effect on 1 July 2023, appeals from district court and Assize Court judgments go to the Court of Appeal (Εφετείο), which sits in civil and criminal divisions, usually with three judges. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 2023 (rule 41.2(2)), a civil appeal is filed in the district court within 42 days of a final judgment, or 14 days of an interlocutory decision. A further step to the Supreme Court (Ανώτατο Δικαστήριο) needs leave and is limited to legal questions such as a change in settled case law, a point of general public importance or conflicting Court of Appeal decisions.

Before July 2023 the Supreme Court heard these appeals, reported as (year) 1 Α.Α.Δ. (civil) or (year) 2 Α.Α.Δ. (criminal).

Nicosia District Court (Επαρχιακό Δικαστήριο Λευκωσίας)

The Nicosia District Court is the largest court in Cyprus. It sits in the Courts of Justice complex on Charalambos Mouskos Street, near the city centre, beside the Supreme Court and the other first-instance courts.

Because of section 21(3A), cross-border claims are filed in Nicosia by default. About three in four Nicosia judgments in the index are civil.

Limassol District Court (Επαρχιακό Δικαστήριο Λεμεσού)

The Limassol District Court sits at 8 Lord Byron Avenue near the centre of Limassol. The complex has two buildings: the eastern building houses the courts exercising criminal jurisdiction and the western building houses the rest.

Limassol's output has been the steadiest of the five courts, at about 400 published judgments a year since 2022.

Larnaca District Court (Επαρχιακό Δικαστήριο Λάρνακας)

Larnaca shows the fastest growth in published judgments of the five courts: up by more than half between 2022 and 2025.

Paphos District Court (Επαρχιακό Δικαστήριο Πάφου)

The Paphos District Court sits at the corner of Neophytou Street and Nicos Nicolaides Street in Paphos.

Paphos has the most criminal-heavy published output of any district court. About 43% of its published judgments are criminal, against about 24% in Nicosia, and in 2021–2025 criminal judgments made up almost half of what Paphos published. On the civil side, property sales feature strongly: about 6% of Paphos civil judgments mention a contract of sale (πωλητήριο έγγραφο), roughly twice the Nicosia rate.

Famagusta District Court (Επαρχιακό Δικαστήριο Αμμοχώστου)

Because Famagusta has been under Turkish military occupation since 1974, the Famagusta District Court sits temporarily in Paralimni, in the free part of the Famagusta district.

Official sources give two street addresses for Famagusta and for Larnaca, so telephone the registry before visiting.

How do you find a judgment of a Cyprus district court?

District court judgments are published free on CyLaw (cylaw.org, with a newer interface at cylii.org) under the first-instance collection, Αποφάσεις Πρωτόδικων Δικαστηρίων. They are split by district and by jurisdiction. On cylii.org the URL shows both: /cy/cases/pr/edad/paf/ is Paphos civil (αστική δικαιοδοσία) and /cy/cases/pr/edpd/paf/ is Paphos criminal (ποινική δικαιοδοσία). The district codes are lef (Nicosia), lem (Limassol), lar (Larnaca), paf (Paphos) and amm (Famagusta).

Three points save time:

1. Not every judgment is published. CyLaw carries the judgments the courts send for publication, not every interim ruling. In the DIKIGOROS AI index, fewer than 300 district court judgments in total date from before 2005, against about 1,600 to 2,500 a year since 2013.
2. Search in Greek. Almost all district court judgments are written in Greek. CyLaw's search is a keyword search, so an English query will not find them.
3. Use the ECLI where there is one. Each district court has its own ECLI code, for example ECLI:CY:EDPAF:2021:A1 for a Paphos civil judgment. About 88% of the district court judgments in the DIKIGOROS AI index carry an ECLI, but coverage is thin for the most recent years, so always quote the case number and date as well. Our guide on how to cite Cyprus judgments covers both formats.

For a full walk-through of CyLaw's search modes, see our CyLaw guide.

Where are the daily cause lists published?

There is no single public portal for district court cause lists (πινάκια). In practice:

• iJustice. Since 1 February 2022 all new civil cases are filed electronically through iJustice, the courts' e-filing platform on gov.cy (criminal courts were excluded from that rollout). Each iJustice case has its own electronic cause list, visible to the advocates on the record.
• Bar associations. Daily and weekly lists for several courts are posted on the websites of the Cyprus Bar Association and the district bar associations. The Nicosia Bar Association, for example, also posts the Nicosia District Court's annual programme showing which judge takes which cases.
• The Supreme Court website (supremecourt.gov.cy) publishes the Supreme Court's own cause lists and announcements.

Lists change, so check again the day before a hearing.

How DIKIGOROS AI helps with district court research

Take a typical Paphos matter. A buyer paid a deposit on a villa, the developer never delivered, and you want to know how the Paphos District Court has dealt with claims to rescind and recover the deposit. On CyLaw you would guess Greek keywords and read the results one by one.

In DIKIGOROS AI you type the question in English:

How has the Paphos District Court dealt with buyers who rescinded a contract of sale for late delivery and claimed back their deposit?

and set the district filter to Paphos. The AI search matches the meaning of the question against the Greek judgments, so it finds decisions that talk about ακύρωση πωλητηρίου εγγράφου or επιστροφή προκαταβολής without you typing those words. The answer summarises what the court held, with a footnote to each judgment, and flags any point the sources do not settle. From there you can:

• open the citation explorer to see which Court of Appeal or Supreme Court judgments the Paphos decisions relied on, and whether anyone has cited them since;
• compare the same question across Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca by changing the district filter;
• filter by outcome and date, translate a judgment into English, and export the result to Word or PDF.

The index covers 95,623 Cyprus court decisions from 1960 to 2026, with more than 900,000 citation links. Each result links back to the original text so you can verify it before citing.

Start your 14-day free trial of DIKIGOROS AI. No card required. After the trial you can stay on Free or choose Basic (€5 a month) or Professional (€20 a month). Law firms and in-house legal teams can choose Firm (€45 per seat a month), which adds Matters (case-file workspaces where you upload the documents for each matter and pin the authorities you rely on), seats and a firm dashboard. Prices exclude VAT; see pricing.

Frequently asked questions about the Cyprus district courts

How many district courts are there in Cyprus?

There are six: Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, Famagusta and Kyrenia. Since 1974 the Kyrenia District Court sits in Nicosia and the Famagusta District Court sits temporarily in Paralimni, so in practice there are five court buildings.

What is the address of the Nicosia District Court?

The Nicosia District Court is on Charalambos Mouskos Street, 1405 Nicosia, in the Courts of Justice complex near the city centre. The official telephone number is +357 22865518 and the judiciary lists chief.reg@sc.judicial.gov.cy as the email.

What is the monetary limit of a District Judge in Cyprus?

Under section 22 of the Courts of Justice Law 14/1960, a District Judge can hear civil claims up to €100,000 and a Senior District Judge up to €500,000. A District Court President can hear a claim of any value.

What criminal cases does a Cyprus district court try?

A district court tries summarily offences punishable by up to five years' imprisonment and can order compensation of up to €6,000 to the victim. More serious offences go to the Assize Court (Κακουργιοδικείο), which sits with three judges.

Where do I appeal a district court judgment in Cyprus?

Since 1 July 2023, appeals from district court and Assize Court judgments go to the Court of Appeal (Εφετείο). A civil appeal must be filed within 42 days of a final judgment or 14 days of an interlocutory decision (Civil Procedure Rules 2023, rule 41.2(2)). Before July 2023 appeals went to the Supreme Court.

Where is the Famagusta District Court?

It sits temporarily in Paralimni because Famagusta has been occupied since 1974. The judiciary website lists 83 Megalou Alexandrou Street, 5290 Paralimni, with the civil department on +357 23741926 and the criminal department on +357 23741915; the EU e-Justice Portal lists 2 Sotiras Street, 5286 Paralimni.

Are Cyprus district court judgments published online?

Yes. Published civil and criminal judgments of every district court are free on CyLaw (cylaw.org and cylii.org), organised by district. The DIKIGOROS AI index holds about 33,800 of them, and roughly 1,700 are added each year.

Are district court judgments available in English?

Almost all district court judgments are written in Greek and there is no official English version. DIKIGOROS AI lets you search them with English questions, read an English answer with footnotes to each judgment, and translate a judgment into English.

Has the Cyprus Commercial Court started operating?

Not yet, as at the end of September 2026. Law 69(I)/2022 created the Commercial Court and the Admiralty Court, but each starts only when the Supreme Court publishes a readiness notice in the Official Gazette. The Admiralty Court is ready from 5 October 2026; until the Commercial Court notice appears, commercial disputes stay with the district courts.

Sources

• Supreme Court of Cyprus, "District Court" and the court pages for Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Famagusta District Courts, supremecourt.gov.cy (accessed September 2026)
• European e-Justice Portal, "National courts and other non-judicial bodies: Cyprus" and European Judicial Atlas, Brussels I (recast), Cyprus, e-justice.europa.eu
• Courts of Justice Law 14/1960 (Ο περί Δικαστηρίων Νόμος του 1960), consolidated text, sections 5, 21, 22 and 24, cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/non-ind/1960_1_14/full.html
• Establishment and Operation of the Commercial Court and Admiralty Court Law 69(I)/2022, sections 3, 32 and 33, cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/non-ind/2022_1_69/full.html; amending Law 121(I)/2026, Official Gazette of 17 July 2026; Phileleftheros, "Ναυτοδικείο" (1 September 2026) on the Admiralty Court readiness notice
• Civil Procedure Rules 2023, Part 41 (Appeals), rule 41.2, cylii.org/cy/rules/ncpr/ncpr-41-01.html
• Office of the Law Commissioner, English consolidation of Law 69(I)/2022 (March 2024), olc.gov.cy
• Gov.cy, "iJustice: electronic registration system for filing court documents", gov.cy/en/service/ijustice
• Cyprus Bar Association, "iJustice in full operation from 1 February 2022", cyprusbarassociation.org
• CyLaw / CyLII first-instance collections, cylaw.org and cylii.org
• DIKIGOROS AI index of the CyLaw corpus, internal statistics, September 2026

Last reviewed 30 September 2026. General information, not legal advice. Only the Greek text published in the Official Gazette is authentic.