The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal filed against Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou, saying she acted lawfully when she issued decrees allowing shops to stay open on Sundays.

The decision is significant as the Supreme Court prepares to issue a 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.

Currently, some shops remain open on Sundays as well as late on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while others remain closed, causing confusion to consumers and adding work on government officials who are reporting hundreds of shops every week for defying an old 2006 law that was reinstated just after New Year’s Day.

Emilianidou began issuing decrees 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.

But the decrees had expired and could not technically be renewed after parliament voted to strip her of that executive authority last year.

President Nicos Anastasiades took the case to court and 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 Attorney General Costas Clerides filed a 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 encroaching on the government’s authority to regulate the market.

The government is also trying to get a ruling on whether proposed shop regulations struck down by the House can indeed be published and become effective immediately.

A number of shops, such as department stores and supermarkets, have chosen to open on Sundays while waiting for a final decision and state officials have been issuing citations for those who violated the law.

Consumers and business groups, as well as part-time weekend employees, are largely in favour of Sunday shopping.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming days on Sunday shopping once and for all.