GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: John Dryllerakis, Claire Sergaki and Vasileios Plakoulas, Dryllerakis Law Firm
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
With respect to punitive damages, the Greek Supreme Court has ruled that enforcing a foreign court’s deci - sion awarding such damages is not inherently contrary to Greece’s international public policy, provided the damages awarded are not excessively disproportion - ate. Furthermore, arbitral tribunals are empowered to order specific performance, since Greek civil law generally permits it as a primary remedy, especially in con - tractual disputes where the obligation is sufficiently defined and enforceable. Regarding administrative acts, it is settled case law that an arbitral tribunal has the power to declare that a certain administrative act runs contrary to the state’s contractual obligations vis-à-vis its counterparty. Said ruling is binding upon the administrative courts (under the limitations set out in 5.2 Circumstances for Court Intervention ) where relevant annulment proceedings against the said administrative act may be initiated, as the arbitral tribunal does not have the power to annul administrative acts. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs Article 41.4 of Law 5016/2023 stipulates that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal shall decide on the allocation of the costs, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the pro - ceedings and the outcome. That said, Law 5016/2023 adopts the principle of costs-follow-the-event (or the “loser pays” principle). Each party requesting to be compensated for its legal and arbitration costs shall simultaneously prove that such costs were reasonably incurred. On the other hand, the awarding of litigation interest (and/or interest on interest) does not fall under the scope of Law 5016/2023 but is rather regulated by the provisions of substantive law applicable to the case at hand. The arbitral tribunal may grant such types of interest, provided that the prerequisites set by law are met and the arbitration agreement does not prohibit it.
The legal requirements regarding the form and con - tent of an arbitral award are set out in Article 40 of Law 5016/2023. At the outset, the arbitral award must be in writing and must be signed by the arbitrator or arbitrators. If there are multiple arbitrators, the signa - tures of the majority suffice, provided that the reason for any omitted signature is specifically indicated in the award. In accordance with Article 40.2 of Law 5016/2023, the arbitral award shall state the reasons upon which it is based, unless the parties have agreed that no reasons are to be given or the award is an award on agreed terms under Article 39 of this law. The arbitral award shall also specify the date of its issuance and the place of arbitration, as stipulated according to Article 28.1 of Law 5016/2023. The award shall comply with any additional formal require - ments set out in the arbitration agreement agreed by the parties or in the procedural rules chosen by them. According to Article 40.4 of Law 5016/2023, after the award is made, a copy signed by the arbitrators shall be delivered to each party. Formal service is required to meet the time limit stipulated in Article 43.3 regard - ing set-aside applications. Pursuant to Article 41.5 of Law 5016/2023, where a party requests the enforcement of the arbitral award in Greece, the arbitral tribunal is required to depos - it the original award with the secretariat of the civil single-member court of first instance of the district where the arbitration was seated. If said seat cannot be determined, the deposit shall be completed with the secretariat of the civil single-member court of first instance of Athens. 10.2 Types of Remedies The question of potential limitations on the types of remedies an arbitral tribunal can award typically arises either during the hearing of a petition for set aside before the Greek courts or in a petition for the recognition and/or enforcement of an award. In these instances, the Greek court will determine whether the recognition or enforcement of a specific remedy would contravene the international public policy of Greece.
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