GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vassilios Moussas, Charalampos Kondis, Christina Grigoriadou and Konstantina Margariti, Moussas & Partners
and therefore constitute full evidence, unless a party objects otherwise. A private document will be admissible as evi- dence only if signed by the person who has issued it and the genuineness of that signature is not contested by the other party. The court assesses all types of evidence freely and determines the truthfulness of each party’s allegations. Facts that are known to be true beyond any doubt are taken into consideration by the court without proof. The same rule applies to facts that are already known to the court from a previous case tried by the same court, as well as to facts that are common knowledge. Evi- dence submitted by one party is also taken into account when proving the arguments of the opposing party. 7.5 Expert Testimony Expert testimony is explicitly prescribed as a form of evidence. The court may appoint one or more experts for the clarification and better comprehension of issues when expert scientific or technical knowledge is required. The court is obliged to order expert evidence if it is requested by a party and the court considers that, for the matter at stake, highly specialised knowledge is required. The expert responsible for the required testimony will be ordered by the court from a particular list of experts that is avail- able in every civil court. On the appointment of an expert by the court, the parties can appoint other experts as their own technical advisors to assist them. The parties’ technical advisors attend the same procedures as the experts appointed by the court and can state their own opinion either orally, at the hearing, or in an expert report.
The parties can also provide expert reports that refer to a particular matter and have been draft- ed at their own request, even when the court has not ordered expert evidence. Such reports, however, are not binding on the court. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public Court hearings are, in principle, open to the pub- lic; however, deliberations over the judgment are made in secret. The judge in charge of the hearing may determine the number of persons present in the courtroom and may order the exclusion of minors or persons behaving inap- propriately. Court hearings are open to the pub- lic, unless an open hearing might insult bonos mores or public policy. Transcripts of hearings are only available to par- ties involved in the dispute and their attorneys – or to third parties, provided that they have a lawful interest. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge In ordinary proceedings, the procedure is – in principle – written and based on the filing of pleadings and evidentiary material, without oral advocacy or examination of witnesses dur- ing the hearing. Therefore, the judge’s level of intervention is rather low compared with special proceedings, where the procedure is mainly con- ducted orally (oral advocacy and examination of witnesses). Judicial intervention is also at a minimum in administrative law disputes. The administra- tive litigation procedure is essentially written, particularly at the inquiry level. During the dis- cussions, witnesses may be heard before the administrative courts of first instance when they judge recourse to full jurisdiction.
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