Through new legislation that has been enacted by the Cyprus Parliament, the Cyprus International Trust Law (CITL) has been modernised in many aspects, becoming a very attractive instrument for international investment and asset protection and placing Cyprus in the forefront of modern trust frameworks.
The novel provisions have been reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General and have been considered as constitutional and in all respects compliant with European Union laws. The scope of the changes include the following matters: Abolition of direct or indirect requirements of non perpetuity on certain trusts.
The CITL does not impose any limit on the period for which a trust may validly endure. The governing law of a Trust subject to CITL is Cyprus law and references to foreign laws (renvoi) or foreign public order rules is prohibited under any circumstances.
The Settlor is allowed to reserve powers or retain beneficial interest in trust property. Subsequent relocation of the Settlor in Cyprus does not affect the validity of the Trust. Immovable property in Cyprus may validly be included in the Trust property.
Abolition of requirement for Trust beneficiary to be a non Cyprus resident. It is expected that the CITL shall now be utilised extensively for asset protection and international investment purposes. A more detailed memo on the new provisions of the CITL shall be available soon.
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