GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Anna Manda and Maria Kallidopoulou, Karatzas & Partners
all the arguments and evidence raised by the defendants. From the initiation until the end of the criminal proceedings, the defendants have access to the prosecutor’s files against them, which may also include findings of the HCC. Rules of Evidence As regards proceedings brought before crimi - nal courts, the assessment of the submitted evidence is left to the discretion of the courts. In general, preference is given to documentary evidence over witness testimonies. Overall, the following means may constitute admissible evi - dence: • documentary evidence (eg, contracts, email correspondence, notes); • expert reports; • witness statements; • judicial documents; and • certified documents. Recognition of Privileges In addition to the attorney-client privilege and the privilege against self-incrimination described in 2.2 Dawn Raids/Search Warrants , the pre - sumption of innocence is also applicable regard - As mentioned in 1.1 Legal Bases , the Damages Law transposed into the Greek legal system the EU Antitrust Damages Directive 2014/104/ EU. Notably, claims for antitrust damages are brought before the specialist section of the Ath - ens Court of First Instance, which comprises three judges specialising in competition law. Likewise, subsequent appeals are heard before the Athens Court of Appeal. ing criminal court proceedings. 4.7 Issuing Civil Complaints
A prior HCC decision finding a cartel infringe - ment is not a prerequisite for a third party to bring a damages claim before the civil courts. Procedure for Issuing Civil Complaints In terms of procedure, once the damages claim is filed, it must be served to the counterparty within 30 calendar days of its submission. Once the counterparty is served, each party should file its pleadings and evidence within 90 calendar days. Furthermore, the parties have an addi - tional 15 calendar days to submit their counter- pleadings. Subsequently, a hearing before the competent court is scheduled. Before submitting their pleadings, the parties must attend an obligatory initial mediation ses - sion. Where the latter is successful, the agree - ment resulting from the mediation is ratified by the civil court and serves as an enforce - ment title. If the mediation is unsuccessful, the case is brought before the competent court as described earlier. As far as access to evidence is concerned, the Damages Law provides that the claimant may request the civil court to order the disclosure of evidence that is in the control of the defendant or third party if the claimant has already presented sufficient facts and evidence before the court to support the plausibility of its claim. Access to HCC files Access to HCC files is subject to certain condi - tions and can only be granted as a last resort. More specifically, evidence in the form of infor - mation prepared especially for the HCC proceed - ings (eg, replies to HCC information requests), information that the HCC has drawn up and sent to the parties (eg, statement of objections), and settlement submissions that have been with-
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