The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal from a Polish woman seeking compensation from Cyprus for losses during the 2013 banking crisis, it was made known on Thursday.

The case involved funds in a term deposit account at Laiki Bank before March 2013.

After restructuring measures, her deposit shrunk from €454,579.52 to €24,508.16, resulting in a loss of around €430,000.

The appellant claimed Cyprus was liable under a 1992 investment agreement with Poland, which she argued protected investors from deprivation and mandated fair compensation.

Under the bailout programme between Cyprus and its international lenders in March 2013, large depositors paid for the recapitalisation of the Bank of Cyprus, heavily exposed to debt-crippled Greece.

Big savers with the Bank of Cyprus had 47.5 per cent of their uninsured deposits (any amount over €100,000) converted into shares. As for Laiki Bank, all uninsured deposits there were wiped out, and the lender was wound down and its operations folded into the Bank of Cyprus.

Initially, the court ruled the agreement was inapplicable after Cyprus joined the EU, as applying it would contradict EU law and the principle of equal treatment.

Allowing compensation based on nationality would lead to discrimination, prohibited by EU treaties.

The Supreme Court upheld this reasoning, stating that bilateral agreements cannot be applied when they conflict with EU law post-accession.

It confirmed that EU legal principles govern relations between member states and their citizens.

The court supported the initial ruling, which lawfully dismissed the claim.

Consequently, the Supreme Court fully rejected the appeal and ordered the appellant to pay €3,500 in costs to the Republic.