GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vassilios Moussas, Charalampos Kondis, Christina Grigoriadou and Konstantina Margariti, Moussas & Partners
6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief The plaintiff files a petition with the court and serves it on the defendant. The judge decides the location and time of the hearing. In extremely urgent circumstances, the plaintiff may request immediate injunctive relief from the court upon filing the petition. The court has the authority to issue such relief on the same day and following a very brief hearing, which may even be conducted ex parte (ie, in the absence of the defendant). This immediate injunctive relief is very limited and remains in force either until the hearing date or the issuance of a judgment on the request for injunctive relief. In recent years, the backlog of cases for provisional measures has multiplied rapidly and courts proceed slowly with scheduling hearing dates and issuing judg- ments. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis Injunctive relief can be obtained on an ex parte basis in cases of urgency or in order to avoid imminent risk. It is seldom granted ex parte, except in maritime cases. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant If an action is dismissed as unfounded, the party who applied for injunctive relief is liable to pay compensation for the damages incurred by the execution of the judgment ordering the injunc- tive relief or the guarantee paid. This applies only if the applicant for injunctive relief was aware of – or ignored due to gross negligence – the fact that no such right existed.
6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief The European Account Preservation Order is a mechanism for securing cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters, in accordance with EU Regulation 655/2014. Also, if jurisdiction can be established against a foreign respondent in Greece, injunctive relief can be obtained by local courts. This relief may be enforced over local or foreign assets through recognition of the exequatur of the local interim judgment or order abroad. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief can also be obtained against third parties in certain circumstances, such as: • when a party requests, as a form of injunctive relief, that a financial institution (third party) seizes any of the debtor’s assets that are in its hands; or • when a party seeks a garnishment. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non-compliance Non-compliance with an interim order in dis- putes of a familial nature is punishable by impris- onment of up to one year or a monetary penalty.
7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
The GCCP provides for the adjudication of pri- vate law disputes through the following mecha- nisms: ordinary proceedings and special pro-
ceedings mechanisms. Ordinary Proceedings
Under ordinary proceedings rules, which have been amended to introduce a fast-track system,
508 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook