GREECE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dimitris Emvalomenos, Bahas, Gramatidis & Partners
Increase in consumer rights Overall, there is an enduring trend towards increased and broader consumer rights, as well as sanctions for relevant breaches, including product liability breaches. Law 2251 has been amended several times with - in this framework, with key revisions as follows. • New provisions have been introduced as far back as 2007 and have covered: (a) expanding the defectiveness concept to include not only the standard safety con - sideration but to also take into account a product’s “expected performance per its specifications” ; (b) including compensation for moral harm and mental distress within the ambit of strict product liability rules, since these were previously covered by general tort legislation; and (c) adding new rules on collective actions also relating to product liability infringe - ments. • In 2012, the right to bring collective actions in Greece (under Law 2251) was extended to other EU member state entities authorised for this per the respective list provided for by Directive 2009/22/EC (repealed by the RAD). • In 2013 and 2015, changes were introduced with respect to the financing of consumer organisations, the sanctions that could be imposed for non-compliance with the provi - sions of Law 2251 and the categorisation of complaints filed under such Law (previous Articles 10, 13a and 13b of Law 2251). • In 2018, Law 2251 was extensively revised and, with respect to product liability rules, material changes were made to the defini - tion of “consumer” , which was narrowed; the regulatory authorities and their enforcement duties; the funding of consumer associations;
application (see “Collective Redress” , above) and on 21 March 2025 it issued a lengthy study on “Mapping Third Party Litigation Funding in the European Union” covering the EU and four non- EU countries. The study verified the fragmental legal landscape throughout the EU and noted three alternative legislation options, namely (i) non-regulation, (ii) a light-touch regulation and (iii) a strong regulation. The further discussion on EU TPLF legislation will now be continued based on the results of the study. With the below exception, TPLD is not regulated in Greece, and it may be therefore informally per - mitted, although concerns have been raised on its legality, ethical risks and potential conflicts of interest. Some insurance companies offer cus - tomers funding of litigation expenses. However, this is neither common nor really considered acceptable from a cultural standpoint. Also, the absence of a legal framework could raise issues of transparency. However, following the transposition of the RAD and as of 26 June 2023, TPLF is specifically prohibited with respect to representative actions (new Article 10n of Law 2251). On a related matter regarding the financing rules of QEs, the new regime introduced by Law 5019 as of 26 June 2023 widens the scope of the pre - vious regime to include grants or concessions from the Greek state and limited dues collected from consumers wishing to be represented in a specific representative action seeking redress measures (new Articles 10c, paragraph 4 and 14, paragraphs 4d and 4e of Law 2251). Under the previous regime, the funding/income of con - sumer associations that could bring collective claims was regulated more restrictively (previous Article 10, paragraphs 6–8 of Law 2251).
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