GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: John Dryllerakis, Claire Sergaki and Vasileios Plakoulas, Dryllerakis Law Firm
measures are contrary to international public policy or unless interim relief proceedings for this case have already been initiated before it. Under Article 36 in conjunction with Article 3.1 of Law 5016/2023, the civil courts may order obliga - tory measures to assist with the taking of evidence in Greek law is silent on the use of emergency arbitra - tors. Article 25.1 of Greek Law 5016/2023 provides that the arbitral tribunal’s power to order interim or preliminary measures is a provision that the parties can opt to override. Therefore, parties may agree to opt for “emergency arbitrator” proceedings in cases of urgent interim measures that cannot wait for the con - stitution of an arbitral tribunal. This typically occurs when the parties have submitted their arbitration to the rules of an arbitral institution that include emer - gency arbitrator provisions, such as the 2020 LCIA Arbitration Rules, the 2021 ICC Arbitration Rules and the 2023 SCC Arbitration Rules. 6.3 Security for Costs Despite the Law 5016/2023 being silent on the mat - ter, it is accepted that arbitral tribunals are allowed to order security for costs. foreign-seated arbitrations. The “Emergency Arbitrator” In principle, the parties are free to agree on the proce - dure to be followed by the arbitral tribunal in conduct - ing the proceedings. As the parties have the freedom to set their own procedural rules, they can also del - egate this responsibility to an arbitral institution, as per Article 5.3 of Law 5016/2023, or choose to follow the rules of a specific institution, such as the ICC or the LCIA. In the absence of any such agreement, the arbitral tribunal will determine the procedure as per Article 27.2 of Law 5016/2023. The parties’ autonomy to decide on the procedure of the arbitration is subject to the rules of mandatory law 7. Procedure 7.1 Governing Rules
of Law 5016/2023, which include the equal treatment principle under Article 26 and the right to be heard under Article 32. 7.2 Procedural Steps Greek law does not prescribe specific procedural steps for the conduct of international arbitral proceed - ings. These matters are determined by the parties or a third party or the arbitrators in accordance with the analysis set out in 7.1 Governing Rules . However, Law 5016/2023 includes certain default provisions that apply where the parties have not agreed on a procedural framework or have not submitted the dis - pute to the rules of an arbitral institution. These default rules of Law 5016/2023 pertain to the commencement date of the arbitral proceedings (Article 29), the dead - lines for the submission of the respondent’s statement of defence (Article 31), and the appointment, replace - ment or challenging of arbitrators (Articles 18 et seq). 7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators As explained in 7.1 Governing Rules , in the absence of an agreement by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may conduct the arbitration in such manner as it considers appropriate. However, the principle of equal treatment of the parties shall be respected and the tribunal shall ensure that each party has an equal opportunity to present its claims and submit its evidence. 7.4 Legal Representatives The law does not mandate specific qualifications for legal representatives appearing before an arbitral tri - bunal; any lawyer with an active licence is permitted to represent clients in arbitration. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence The collection and submission of evidence are gener - ally determined by the tribunal in consultation with the parties. Law 5016/2023 does not include specific pro - visions for the collection and submission of evidence at the pleading stage and at the hearing, apart from: • Article 30 on the language of evidence; • Article 34 on the appointment of an expert by the arbitral tribunal;
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