GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: John Kyriakides, Vicky Kriketou, Angeliki Stryftou and Konstantinos Lygkonis, Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm
5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases
tive, granting the third party formal status in the case regardless of active participation. • The announcement of the dispute permits a party with a lawful interest to inform a third party of a pending case before the first-instance judgment is issued. Unlike a joinder, this mechanism is primar- ily for notification, and the third party may only actively join by filing an intervention. If the parties do not participate, they lose the right to challenge the judgment later. Deadlines for these third-party actions depend on the type of procedure, the stage of the case, and the relevant filing or hear- ing dates. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs Under Greek civil procedure, a defendant cannot gen- erally request the court to order the plaintiff to provide security for the defendant’ s costs prior to trial. Court costs are usually determined after the judgment. How- ever, in certain specific cases, such as when provi- sional or interim measures are sought, the court may require the plaintiff to provide a guarantee or deposit to secure compliance with the measure. Any such order is discretionary and assessed based on neces- sity and fairness. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions The costs of interim applications or motions, including court fees and legal expenses, are generally borne by the losing party. The court may decide on cost alloca- tion immediately when issuing the order, or defer the decision until the conclusion of the main proceedings. Courts retain discretion to adjust costs if interim relief is partially granted or denied. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe A hearing for a petition seeking interim measures is generally scheduled within a month or longer after fil- ing, depending on the court’s workload. Requests for injunction orders, such as in cases of imminent harm or other urgent circumstances, may be granted within one to three days of filing the petition.
Civil procedure in Greece does not provide a discovery process, as is the case in common law systems. Par- ties are responsible for presenting their own evidence, which may include documents, witness testimony and affidavits, expert reports, or other relevant materials, while the court oversees the collection, presentation, and admissibility of such evidence. There is no general pre-trial mechanism to compel the opposing party to produce documents or witnesses. The court may, however, order the production of evi- dence if it is relevant and proportionate, and may limit the scope or costs to ensure fairness and efficiency. 5.2 Discovery and Third Parties Although Greek civil procedure lacks a formal discov- ery process, the court may order third parties to pro- duce evidence or documents if a party shows that it is relevant to the dispute. Such requests are submitted by motion, and the court can require the third party to appear or provide documents under its supervision. Conditions may be imposed to protect confidentiality or limit the burden on the third party; in urgent cases, the request can be made through provisional meas- ures proceedings. 5.3 Discovery in This Jurisdiction Evidence in civil cases is primarily court-controlled and party-initiated, rather than following an adversar- ial discovery model. Only facts that are contested and relevant to the outcome of the case must be proven, although the court may also consider matters of com- mon knowledge or widely acknowledged facts. Each party is responsible for proving the facts supporting its claims or defences, and may submit documentation that supports their position and rebuts any counter- evidence produced by the other side. If a party knows that the opposing side possesses documents relevant to the dispute, it may request the court to order their production, and the court may also require additional evidence at its discretion. Judges evaluate all evidence submitted, assessing its rele- vance, materiality, and admissibility, and must provide
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