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