Wednesday is early closing in Cyprus. On Sundays stores are closed altogether, and they used to close early on Saturdays as well. The arrangement is by law and does not apply to peripteros (corner shops) or - for whatever reason - to bakeries. However in recent months those stores that wished to do so have been staying open seven days a week, with no early closings. This has suddenly ceased, a bit unevenly, with some establishments, such as Lidl (our local one anyway) staying open on Sundays while others, unwilling to risk a fine, go with the restricted hours. This includes Prinos, the greengrocer, and the animal shelter charity shop. Particularly difficult in the case of the latter, as its customers are disproportionately Philippino and Sri Lankan servants who are only free on Sundays, and sales are already down - the most sensitive indicator of an economy in difficulty.
The current confusion starts with the fact that on December 3 the Supreme Court found a parliamentary law regulating shop hours unconstitutional, arguing the right to regulate the policy was solely the government’s. Assuming "government" in the press releases refers to the civil service, there does seem to be a bit of tail wagging the dog here. In any case, ignoring the Supreme Court, a week later, parliament put it to a vote.
A majority vote, meant a 2006 law regulating shop hours returned into force as of January 2. The Supreme Court (which does seem at first glance to have behaved oddly) overruled. And, as usual, there is the inescapable suspicion that a number of people in more than one body ought properly to have declared conflict of interest. Ah, Cyprus.
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