GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: John Kyriakides, Vicky Kriketou, Angeliki Stryftou and Konstantinos Lygkonis, Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm
interest, which accrues from the date of service of the claim. This interest is set two percentage points above the statutory default rate. 9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment Domestic judgments in Greece are automatically enforceable and do not require a separate recognition process. For enforcement measures, the successful party must obtain an enforceable copy of the judg- ment bearing the writ of execution. Enforcement is carried out through a court bailiff upon the creditor’s order, specifying the manner and, where applicable, the assets against which enforcement will be pursued. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country Under the Brussels I Regulation, judgments issued by EU Member State courts are recognised and enforced in Greece without the need for a declaration of enforceability. The creditor must submit a certified copy of the judgment together with the standard cer- tificate issued by the court of origin. Judgments rendered in non-EU countries require exequatur (recognition and declaration of enforce- ability) by a competent Greek court before they can be enforced As a general rule, all final judgments of the Court of First Instance are subject to appeal before the Court of Appeal. A cassation appeal may be brought before the Supreme Court, which reviews only points of law aris- ing from judgments rendered by the courts of first and second instance. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments A party may lodge an appeal against a first-instance judgment if they have a legitimate interest and have been adversely affected by the decision. An appeal is available to any party that has been wholly or par- 10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation
tially unsuccessful at first instance and alleges that the judgment involves an error of fact or law. The prevail- ing party may also appeal, but only to the extent that it demonstrates a lawful interest in doing so. 10.3 Procedure for Taking an Appeal The time limit for filing an appeal is 30 days from the service of the judgment, or 60 days if the appellant resides abroad. If the judgment has not been served by either party, the appeal may be lodged within two years from the date of its publication. Following the filing of an appeal and the scheduling of the hearing, the respondent may lodge and serve a counter-appeal up to 30 days before the hearing date, while the appellant may likewise file supplementary grounds of appeal within the same timeframe. 10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal The grounds of appeal may concern an error of law or an incorrect evaluation of the evidence and facts presented before the Court of First Instance. Accord- ingly, the Court of Appeal may review both the legal and factual aspects of the case, but its examination is limited to the issues raised in the appeal grounds. Although the appellate process does not constitute a full re-hearing, the court may reassess the evidence and reach its own conclusions where appropriate. A rehearing of the case takes place only if one of the parties did not attend the proceedings before the Court of First Instance. It is important to note that, in principle, litigants are not permitted to introduce new claims before the Court of Appeal. Exceptions apply in limited circumstances, such as when: • the respondent raises new allegations solely in defence to the appeal, provided that the fac- tual or legal basis of the original claim remains unchanged; • the new claims arose after the hearing before the court of first instance;
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