The Cyprus Banking Haircut and Human Rights, the Way to Go?

The Cyprus Banking Haircut of 2013 (Cyprus Haircut or Haircut) was unprecedented and had devastating implications for investors. However, more than four years after the Cyprus Haircut of 2013, account holders and shareholders in Cyprus’ two largest banks at the time—Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank—still do not have any available recourse for their losses. Indeed, despite account holders having resorted to national courts in the Republic of Cyprus, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and international tribunals, such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Despite making human rights’ claims in all such proceedings, nonetheless, none of these forums has effectively dealt with the substantive elements of the Cyprus Haircut to date.

This Article will explore the implications of the Cyprus Banking Haircut on bondholders from a human rights perspective, reviewing investors’ rights and remedies once a claim is brought before the Court most appropriate to deal with human rights’ violations, namely the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).