GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Petros Machas, Dimitris Zanganas and Katerina Chrysi, Machas & Partners
4. Prosecution and Trial Process 4.1 Initiating a Prosecution According to the Greek Code of Criminal Procedure, criminal proceedings are initiated by order of the Pub - lic Prosecutor once they receive any information indi - cating that a criminal offence has been committed. For certain misdemeanours – typically financial offenc - es below EUR120,000 committed against a private individual – the filing of a criminal complaint by the injured party is required (within three months from the time they became aware of both the offence and the perpetrator) in order to initiate criminal proceedings. Following a report or complaint, the Public Prosecutor orders a preliminary examination in order to collect evidence, gather documents and witness statements and obtain explanations from the suspect(s). In cases of flagrante delicto or other urgent circumstances, evi - dence may be collected by the police without prior prosecutorial order. Pursuant to Article 43 of the Code of Criminal Proce - dure, the decision to initiate criminal prosecution lies with the Public Prosecutor. If the evidence collected is insufficient, or if the complaint is unfounded, not supported by law, or not amenable to judicial assess - ment, the case is dismissed and placed in the archive. Prosecution and criminal penalties may be imposed only on natural persons and not on legal entities (in line with the Roman law principle societas delinquere non potest). Criminal liability is inherently linked to individual responsibility and is not recognised for legal persons or entities, whether or not they have legal personality, as this would raise significant doctrinal and constitutional issues. However, very recently, following pressure from inter - national organisations active in combating financial crime and corruption (such as the G20 High-Level Principles on the Liability of Legal Persons for Corrup - tion – and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention), Articles 134 and 135 of Law 5090/2024 were introduced into Greek criminal system.
similar sanctions are provided for infringements relat - ing to databases. Finally, in certain cases, the criminal liability may be extinguished through the payment of an administrative fine, without, however, eliminating the obligation to compensate the right holders. 3.8 Greenwashing and Environmental Pollution Violations In the Greek legal order, environmental pollution con - stitutes criminal, administrative, and civil wrongdoing, whereas so-called greenwashing does not amount to an autonomous criminal offence, but is primarily addressed under consumer protection law as a mis - leading commercial practice. Environmental pollution is chiefly governed by Law 1650/1986, as amended by Law 4042/2012 in alignment with EU environmental criminal law, providing for criminal sanctions (includ - ing imprisonment as well as monetary fines), admin - istrative measures (such as fines and the suspension or revocation of operating licences), and civil liability for the restoration of environmental damage or deg - radation. Indicative criminal offences include operat - ing without the requisite licence, unlawful emissions or discharges into air, soil, or water, improper waste management, the operation of hazardous installa - tions, and offences against protected wildlife. Legal entities incur administrative liability for offences com - mitted for their benefit by persons in leading positions or due to lack of supervision, while natural persons are subject to criminal penalties. By contrast, green - washing falls within the scope of Law 2251/1994 and EU rules on unfair commercial practices, attracting primarily administrative sanctions, cease-and-desist orders, and civil claims, and only exceptionally giving rise to criminal liability (eg, fraud). The supervision and enforcement of the relevant framework are exercised by competent administrative authorities, including the Ministry of Environment and Energy and environmen - tal inspectorates in relation to pollution, as well as the General Secretariat for Consumer Protection and the Consumer Ombudsman in relation to greenwashing, while serious infringements may also give rise to crimi - nal proceedings before the competent courts.
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