GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vassilios Moussas, Charalampos Kondis, Christina Grigoriadou and Konstantina Margariti, Moussas & Partners
the cause of action accrued. A similar five-year period applies to tort claims, starting from the date of the offence – or possibly at any later time when the injured party acquired knowledge of the incurred damage and the person liable for compensation. The statute of limitations is interrupted – and a new one starts – each time there is a procedural action (eg, filing and service of a lawsuit or hear- ing of a case). Consumers’ claims against the producer of a defective product are time-barred three years after the injured party has been informed – or should have been informed – about the loss, the defect and the identity of the producer. Furthermore, the general limitation period within which a buyer (whether a consumer or not) must exercise their rights from a contract for the sale of goods is two years for movable goods and five years for immovable goods. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant Jurisdiction has several meanings under Greek law. In one sense, jurisdiction denotes the general power of the Greek courts – as opposed to the courts of another country – to adjudicate cases. The concept of jurisdiction is further distin- guished into: • subject-matter jurisdiction, which refers to the power of a certain category of courts (eg, the single-member court of first instance or the multi-member court of first instance) to adju- dicate over a certain class of cases; and
• territorial jurisdiction of a specific court, which refers to the power of that court to adjudicate a particular claim. A court may adjudicate a case only when it has both subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction. As a general rule, territorial jurisdiction over civil cases is determined by the domicile of the defendant (regardless of the defendant’s nation- ality). Depending on the nature of the dispute, jurisdiction may be determined by other factors – for example, the place of the tortuous act, the place of execution of the agreement from which the dispute arises, the location of real property, or the auxiliary nature of a claim. Some of these jurisdictional bases may be exclusive and force the plaintiff to bring the action in the court of a specific district. (Actions regarding interests in real property, for exam- ple, must be adjudicated by the court sitting in the district where the real property is located.) Other jurisdictional bases allow the plaintiff to choose between the court sitting in the district of the defendant’s domicile and courts of other districts (eg, the court of the district where the tortuous conduct took place). In disputes arising from – or in connection with – a contract that includes a clause on jurisdiction, Greek courts will review the validity and effect of this clause on jurisdiction. 3.4 Initial Complaint A lawsuit is initiated by physically or electroni- cally filing a written pleading (complaint) with the court in which the action is brought; a copy thereof is served on the defendant. The initial complaint must state, in detail, the facts of the case in a manner that justifies an actionable claim by the plaintiff against the defendant.
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