GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Anna Manda and Maria Kallidopoulou, Karatzas & Partners
2.3 Spoliation of Evidence In order to avoid the spoliation of potentially rel - evant information, the HCC may seize books, documents, calendars, hard disks, electronic storage and data transfer media that relate to the business information falling under the scope of the investigation. The undertaking under inves - tigation must be physically present at the HCC premises when the unsealing occurs, so that the undertaking can identify any confidential data contained in the electronic files and emails, as well as written communications protected under attorney-client privilege. Such data may be excluded from the HCC file. 2.4 Role of Counsel As described in 2.2 Dawn Raids/Search War- rants , an external legal counsel can be present during the dawn raid, but this is not a prerequi - site for the legality of the inspection. In-house counsel can also be present during the inspection and participate in the interviews/wit - ness statements. However, the role of in-house and external counsel is limited, as ‒ although they can provide clarifications on behalf of indi - viduals ‒ they may not respond on their behalf and/or otherwise intervene. In-house and/or external counsel may also be present during the unsealing of the evidence obtained by the HCC officials, which usually takes place about a month after the date of the dawn raid. The GCA does not require individuals to obtain separate legal counsel from the counsel rep - resenting the relevant company, save for any conflict-of-interest concerns. However, it is often advisable to obtain separate legal counsel, given that individuals are also personally sanctioned under the GCA.
The types of evidence deemed acceptable by the HCC include documents, oral statements, emails (even if these are deleted or unread), records and any other item containing informa - tion, regardless of the form and the medium on which the information is stored. At the end of the inspection, the undertaking is entitled to an electronic copy of all documents obtained by the HCC. Limitations to the Powers of HCC Inspectors A number of restrictions are imposed on HCC officials when conducting such inspections, as follows. Inspection order The HCC inspection must be limited to the docu - ments related to the object of the inspection and the activities of the company related to the sec - tors indicated in the inspection order. Evidence taken in the context of a particular case cannot be used in another case. Privilege against self-incrimination HCC officials are not entitled to request that an undertaking or its directors provide statements that would amount to an admission of guilt. The GCA expressly provides that the HCC requests should “comply with the principle of proportion- ality and not oblige the addressee to admit the existence of the infringement” . Attorney-client privilege HCC officials are not entitled to request docu - ments protected under attorney-client privilege (see 2.6 Attorney-Client and Other Privileges ). For more on the consequences of refusing to co-operate with the HCC, please refer to 2.7 Non-Cooperation .
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