Georgina Athanasiou is a Partner in the Banking & Finance and Criminal Law Department at Harris Kyriakides. Georgina has substantial litigation experience and regularly represents banks and other financial institutions before Cyprus courts. Her main areas of expertise are litigation, domestic and international debt collection, loan recoveries and liquidation proceedings. She also deals with criminal law cases.
Recent Practice
- Representing banks in complex litigation and filing interim orders. Her experience includes handling legal proceedings under the domestic Transfer and Asset Law.
- Advising banks on debt enforcement and restructuring agreements, including debt-for-asset swaps.
- Managing interim court proceedings involving the service of legal documents and jurisdiction under national and EU laws, as well as handling the enforcement of judgments.
- Providing guidance to banks on purchasing non-performing loan portfolios, internal legal matters, and online property auctions.
- Handling cases involving the European Arrest Warrant and extradition, including successfully referring preliminary questions to the European Court of Justice.
- In addition to her legal practice, Georgina is actively involved in civic leadership and public affairs:
- Oxygen for Democracy: President of the Board since 2016, promoting dialogue and societal change.
- Georgina is a member of Cyprus’s first company involved in pure political lobbying, Zenox Public Affairs. She has been closely involved with the launch of the Cyprus Forum in association with the Delphi Economic Forum, a high-level conference designed to drive change through dialogue among government officials, private sector leaders, academics, and media.
- Scientific Council Against Corruption: Appointed in 2020 by the President of Cyprus, reflecting her commitment to transparency and governance.
- She also advises the Prisoner Rights Protection Association and is involved in several other civic initiatives, including the Parallel Parliament initiative under the Committee on Transparency, Institutions, and Justice, and the Larnaca Municipal Youth Council.
- She co-authored a chapter on Bonds in the leading textbook “Cyprus Banking Law,” published in 2021, which is considered a definitive reference in the field.
- Georgina has authored several academic articles, including pieces on alternative sentences in Cyprus, European Arrest Warrant and Fundamental rights and civil procedure reforms. Her work, such as the article “Civil procedure reform in Cyprus: looking to England and beyond,” published in the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, demonstrates her deep understanding of both Cypriot and international legal frameworks.
- She is also a member of the Scientific Team for CYSCOLA, shaping legal citation standards in Cyprus.
- Her achievements have been recognized with awards such as the European Citizen Prize (2022).
EXPERTISE
Banking and Finance, Debt Collection, Criminal Litigation, Arbitration, Loan Recoveries and Liquidation Proceedings
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
LLM, Criminal Law & Human Rights, University of Cyprus, 2020 LLB, University of Cyprus, 2016
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Member of the Cyprus Bar Association, 2017 Member of the European Criminal Bar Association, 2020