Orams V. Apostolides: A Case Study on the Application in English Law of the Brussels I Regulation in the Light of the Act of Accession 2003

This article uses a recent ruling of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales as the starting point for an enquiry into the interpretation of Protocol no. 10 to the Act of Accession 2003 and, more particularly, into its effects on requests for the recognition and enforcement of Cypriot court judgments formulated on the basis of the Brussels I Regulation. The High Court's ruling is of some significance, not only because Protocol no. 10 becomes, for the first time since its adoption, the subject matter of judicial interpretation but, also, because of its value as a test case on the European judiciary's perception of the impact of the reforms wrought by the Brussels I Regulation on the status quo ante in this field and as an illustration of the wider legal complications inherent in the participation in the European Union of a de facto divided Member State. This article also anticipates some of the arguments that the Court of Appeal and, eventually, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights might be faced with in deciding how best to address the broader legal issues that this case raises.