GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vassilios Moussas, Charalampos Kondis, Christina Grigoriadou and Konstantina Margariti, Moussas & Partners
Special Proceedings In special proceedings, the court sets a hearing date upon the filing of an action. Besides the fil- ing and servicing of action, all other procedures take place during the hearing in which the par- ties submit their pleadings and evidentiary mate- rial. The parties may submit their rebuttals within five working days of the hearing. 8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval Civil claims are generally freely disposable and therefore subject to settlement. Court settlement requires a statement before the court, the judge handling the case, or a notary. The attempt to reach a settlement can begin after the initiation of the court proceed- ings, at any stage during the case, and until the issuance of a non-appealable court decision. If the attempt to reach a settlement fails, the court continues with the trial. If a settlement is reached, a note is made in the court transcript and the trial is terminated. If parties reach a settlement other than the court settlement, the settlement agreement is deemed an “out-of-court” settlement. This requires the issuance of a judgment in order to be vested with an enforceable title. 8.2 Settlement of Lawsuits and Confidentiality The terms of the settlement of a dispute can remain confidential with the parties’ agreement. 8.3 Enforcement of Settlement Agreements In court settlements, court transcripts – includ- ing the settlement of a case (albeit not court
The judgments of civil and administrative courts are not issued at the hearing date but, rather, at a later stage when the judgment is issued and published. In criminal cases, the court issues its judgment immediately. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings Ordinary Proceedings Once the lawsuit has been filed, the parties have 90 days (or 120 days, in the case of foreign defendants or those of unknown residence) to submit written pleadings and supporting doc- umentation. This 90- or 120-day period com- mences as soon as the procedural deadline to serve the lawsuit to the other party expires. The procedural deadline for serving the lawsuit to the other party is 30 days (or 60 days, in the case of foreign defendants or those of unknown residence). The parties then have a 15-day deadline to sub- mit their rebuttals to the opposing party’s argu- ments. The court will then set a hearing date and the final decision should be issued within eight months of the hearing; however, the lat- ter deadline depends on the court’s caseload. Should any allegations arise once the initial written pleadings and supporting documenta- tion have been submitted, the parties have the option to file additional written pleadings and counter pleadings twenty (20) days and ten (10) days prior to the hearing respectively. The procedural deadline to file pleadings and rebuttals may be extended by means of a judg- ment, on the basis of an agreement between the parties and if the judge is also in agreement after assessing the circumstances pertaining to the requested extension (article 148 GCCP).
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