GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ilias G. Anagnostopoulos and Padelis V. Bratis, ANAGNOSTOPOULOS
1.6 Rules of Pre-Action Conduct Civil Proceedings
For certain categories of civil claims, the appli - cable limitation period for their judicial pursuit is significantly shorter, namely five years, begin - ning from the date these were born (Article 250 GCivC). 1.5 Proprietary Claims Against Property A fraud victim may file an action in tort against the defendant with the competent civil court of first instance, seeking restitution for the loss or damage sustained (Article 914 et seq GCivC). Damages shall be awarded as compensation for the pecuniary harm caused by the defend - ant, possibly including loss of profits. It should be noted that moral damages could also be awarded in the form of compensation due to non-pecuniary harm as a result of the unlawful behaviour (please see also 1.2 Causes of Action After Receipt of a Bribe ). Under Greek insolvency proceedings, there are no established preferential rights of creditors who are victims of fraud. Proceeds of Fraud All assets deriving from the commission of fraud (predicate offence to money laundering), acquired directly or indirectly from the proceeds of such offence, or which constitute the means that were used or were going to be used in com - mitting such offence, are subject to confiscation and forfeiture. Any legal act concerning confis - cated property is prohibited and shall be consid - ered as null and void (Articles 174–176 GCivC). Proceeds of crime may be returned to the vic - tims of fraud by a court decision; otherwise, they are considered property of the Greek State.
There are no general preconditions for the claim - ant before taking judicial action in a fraud case. However, in practice it is rather common for an extrajudicial declaration to be sent to the oppos - ing litigant, with a request for restitution of dam - age, prior to filing a lawsuit. Criminal Proceedings From a criminal law perspective, Article 405 GCC provides that no criminal sanctions are imposed if the perpetrator, of their own will, fully compen - sates the injured party, before being examined as a suspect or defendant, and without causing unlawful harm to a third party. 1.7 Prevention of Defendants Dissipating or Secreting Assets Effect of Interim Measures The Greek Code of Civil Procedure (GCCivP) contains various provisions, allowing the plain - tiff to apply – even before the commencement of ordinary proceedings – for an interim injunction or provisional order against the opposing party, in order to freeze movable or real estate assets (or rights in rem over such assets) as well as claims with respect to them (Articles 682 et seq, 707 et seq GCCivP). The range of such injunctions is wide, so the competent court has the discretion to shape them in the most appropriate manner. The plaintiff needs to prove the urgent character of the requested measures, while injunctions that have been granted prior to the commencement of ordinary proceedings automatically cease to exist, unless an action is filed by the plaintiff within 30 days or within the timeframe instructed by the court.
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