The Penal Code was amended following a draft law submitted by DISY MPs Sotiris Sampson and Kyriakos Hatzigiannis.
As mentioned in the report to the Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, Article 188A of the Penal Code, as voted by the Parliament, states that
1. A person who in any public place by any means, method or means, including the offer of consideration in kind, incites and harasses another person or group of persons to accept or reject a travel or transport service, catering or entertainment service or tourist accommodation; shop products or other services of a commercial nature commits an offense punishable by imprisonment of six (6) months or a fine not exceeding € 2.000 (two thousand euros) or both. It is clarified that the offer of goods for sale by licensed street vendors will not constitute an offense under the above provisions.
2. A person on behalf of or for the benefit of whom another person committed the above offense is guilty of an offense punishable by imprisonment of six (6) months or a fine not exceeding € 2.000 (two thousand euros) or both. penalties.
3. In case of a subsequent conviction of the same person for an offense referred to above within a period of two (2) years from the previous conviction, the offense shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding three (3) years or by a fine not exceeding the € 3.000 (three thousand euros) or with both of these penalties.
4. In addition to any penalty mentioned above, the court may order the termination of the operation of the company in favor of which the offense was committed for a period not exceeding six (6) months.
The bill as originally submitted included an increase in the current sentence to one year and € 4.000 (four thousand euros), and for repeating the offense within two years of the previous conviction, a prison sentence of up to two years and / or a fine of € 8.000. , however, the bill was drafted in such a way as not to disrupt the out-of-court settlement
According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the draft law, as well as what its rapporteurs said during its discussion in the Committee on Legal Affairs, it was found that the phenomenon of harsh customers and targeted markets could not be satisfactorily combated by the implementation of existing legislation. .
According to them, it is observed that the phenomenon has reached alarming proportions, especially in tourist areas or where there is a large concentration of leisure centers, shops or accommodation, resulting in, among other things, the use of often unfair means of guiding customers directed to specific areas and activities and thus adversely affect free competition, as well as the image of Cyprus as a tourist destination.
At the same time, as pointed out by the rapporteurs of the bill, it has been found that a large number of people who are agrarian clients, the majority of them non-Cypriot citizens, leave Cyprus before their criminal prosecution is completed and, consequently, it is not possible to convict them. persons who employ them and in the absence of such a conviction, according to the existing legislation, the court may not order the cessation of the operation of the company for the benefit of which the offense was committed.
Source: KYPE