The Supreme Court on Monday announced it would be making its binding decision on the controversial shopping hours bill known at noon on March 28.

Attorney General Costas Clerides filed the legal recourse on behalf of the executive branch, asking for a clear statement by the Supreme Court that would say parliament violated its authority by preventing the government to regulate the market.

The government then tried to get a ruling on whether proposed shop regulations struck down by the House could become effective immediately.

The House had voted to prevent Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou from renewing decrees she began issuing in July 2013 and renewing them every six months, effectively naming all areas as “tourist zones” so that shops could operate freely on a longer time schedule, including Sundays.

Last week, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed against Emilianidou, saying she acted lawfully when she issued decrees to regulate zoning and shopping hours.

The decision was significant as the Supreme Court was preparing to issue its final ruling on whether shops can legally stay open on Sundays.

The appeal was filed by small shopkeepers association POVEK last year, which argued small businesses that are usually family owned and run could not compete with large stores operating for longer hours, especially on Sundays.

But the Supreme Court said the minister had every right to exercise her authority on issues of a regulatory nature and an appeal was not adequate to undo that executive power.

Campaigners for Sunday shopping in Cyprus also scored a legal victory last Friday after the Nicosia District Court ruled in favour of a shop owner who had defied the controversial law.

The current law, specifically Article 20(a) of 155(I)/2006 was found to be unconstitutional and the shop owner was found not guilty.

Before Friday’s ruling, there were doubts in the market as some shops remained open on Sundays as well as late on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while others remained closed, causing confusion to consumers.

This also added extra work on government officials who were reporting hundreds of shops every week for defying the old 2006 law that was reinstated just after New Year’s Day but was found to be unconstitutional on March 18.

President Nicos Anastasiades took the case to court after Emilianidou’s decrees had expired and could not technically be renewed after parliament voted to strip her of that executive authority last year.

He got back a decision in December that the House violated the principle of separation of powers between legislative and executive branches.

This meant that parliament had no business meddling with the government’s executive authority to regulate the market in general and shopping hours in particular.

But the ruling was not very clear and the Attorney General requested a clear statement by the Supreme Court.