Certificate Of Non Appeal Of Foreign Decision

Certificate Of Non Appeal Of Foreign Decision By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 24 March 2022 A foreign court decision can be made to have legal validity in Greece, with a court decision issued by a Greek court, which recognizes the foreign court order, ruling or decision, as legally binding in Greece. The relatively quick legal process before the Greek court starts with a petition drafted and filed by a lawyer in Greece and it usually requires one court hearing. In most cases the case is completed when the Greek court issues a decision by which it recognizes that the foreign court decision will have from now on legal validity in Greece, as well. The foreign court decision which becomes valid in Greece, can then be implemented or executed in Greece. Money awarded abroad may be collected or seized in Greece. A foreign divorce may be registered in Greece, so the interested party can remarry afterwards. In order to reach the stage where the foreign decision is recognized by the Greek legal order, the petitioner must file with the Greek court which will hear the case, the hard copy of the foreign court decision, order or ruling, with either the Apostille stamp, if the foreign country is a member of the relevant Hague Convention, or with the notarization by the Consulate of Greece in the foreign country, or by the Consulate of the foreign country in Greece. The foreign decision must be apostilled or notarized (depending on the country) in its entirety and in its most detailed and long form possible. For example, if the foreign decision is a divorce, simple divorce certificates or other short versions of the foreign court decision, which may be good and acceptable in the foreign country, are not enough to persuade the Greek court about the nature and substance of the foreign decision. The other vital document which is needed in order to have the foreign decision recognized in Greece, is the certificate of non-appeal, which must be issued by the court which issued the foreign court decision. The certificate of non appeal proves that the foreign court decision, order or ruling is final, meaning that it cannot be appealed or challenged anymore, either because the time limit to file such a challenge or appeal has passed without any objection being filed, or that a challenge of some sort had actually been filed (objection, appeal, other) and has been rejected, so that the foreign court decision has been upheld. In most cases, the written proof that the foreign court decision is final is contained in a separate document, issued by the same court, which states that the decision in question is final, or that it has not been appealed, or challenged, or that the time limit for such an appeal or challenge has passed and no appeal was filed. A court document with such a content usually satisfies the criteria of Greek law and the Greek court will issue a decision accepting the foreign court decision as valid in Greece, as well. Greek law states that a foreign court decision can be transferred into the Greek legal order, and obtain legal validity in Greece, provided that it is final and that it does not violate the basic principles of Greek law. Of course, the Greek court will not try again the merits of the foreign case. It will not go into the facts and the details which were considered by the foreign court in order to form its opinion. The Greek court will only examine whether the fundamental rules of the core principles of fair trial have been observed in the procedure which led to the foreign court decision. For example, it is significant the foreign court decision to state that the defendant or respondent had been served with the court petition or lawsuit action and that enough time was given to prepare his/her defence and arguments. If the court petition had not been served to the other party, or if the respondent did not have the opportunity to be heard, meaning that the principle of audi alteram partem was not applied, the Greek court may be in doubt whether the basic principles of fair trial and of the fundamental human rights have been observed by the foreign court procedure. Since every country and even different federal states within the same country, often have different rules of procedure and various formats of court decisions or orders, each case must be examined according to its particular facts. The Greek lawyer who will present the foreign court decision for recognition by the Greek court will strive to present to the court the most satisfactory evidence which will help the judge identify the foreign court decision as being in harmony with at least the minimum requirements of Greek law, in order to have the foreign court decision recognized with the same validity as if it had been issued by a Greek court in the first place. *Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr

What To Do When You Are Served with A Lawsuit Action in Greece

What To Do When You Are Served with A Lawsuit Action in Greece By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 8 March 2022 If you live outside of Greece and you own property or have other assets or interests in Greece, you may find yourself in a case where you are served, at your foreign residence, with documents related to a lawsuit action which has been filed by someone before a court of law in Greece. In that case you are the respondent or defendant and the other person may be the petitioner or plaintiff. In such a case, you must immediately contact an attorney in Greece and ideally scan all the pages of the documents you have been served with and e-mail them to the attorney you have decided that will represent you. In many lawsuit cases in Greece, there is a relatively short period of only 90 (ninety) days from the time you have been served with the lawsuit action, within which you must file at the court all your written arguments, your evidence, documents, photographs, survey maps etc. and present the depositions or affidavits of your witnesses. The attorney in Greece will review the lawsuit action which you will have e-mailed him / her and will advise you how you can organize your defence aiming to have the lawsuit action dismissed or its claims rejected. This will include telling to your lawyer the truth in detail as you know it and as you believe it, explaining the facts and helping your attorney to write down the points where the lawsuit action against you is not stating the truth or where the facts are distorted or presented in a way which does not reflect the truth. In most cases you will have to find witnesses who are willing to sign depositions or affidavits stating the facts which they know, in a way which on the one hand reflects reality and on the other helps your case at the court. You may believe that certain persons will definitely be willing to sign the affidavits, only to find out that they use all sorts of real or pretentious excuses not to get involved in your lawsuit adventure. Witnesses may be unwilling to testify at the court or even sign a deposition. In the Greek legal system, a deposition is a written statement signed by the witness before a judge or a notary. There is no cross examination and the witness in the process of the affidavit is not required to answer questions by a judge or the attorney of any of the parties. The witness has only the obligation to state the truth, sign that the statement is true and accurate and give the oath, either religious or civil. There are of course civil law cases where the witness testifies before the court, in which case he / she is subject to the questions of the judge and the lawyers. Each case has its own particularities and your guide in the court process will be your lawyer, who will suggest what documents and other types of evidence may be needed in order to help your case at the court. Your attorney will have the responsibility to act as your counsel and trusted advisor, much like it happens in most countries of the western world. *Ο Χρήστος Ηλιόπουλος είναι Δικηγόρος παρ’ Αρείω Πάγω, Master of Laws. www.greekadvocate.eu bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr