What are the reasons of non-enforcement of intra-EU judgments and payment orders from other EU member states? How are the foreign judgments challenged?
Reasons of non-enforcement are strictly the ones mentioned in the above Regulations. Under Brussels Ia Regulation which is the most important of the above mentioned Regulations in the field under discussion, these are included in article 45, which should apply concurrently with article 46 as regards enforcement. Article 45 par. 1 contains provisions on non-enforcement in case of violation of the Greek (and EU) public policy/ ordre public (point a), the right of the defendant to challenge the foreign judgment, in case it was given in default of appearance and the defendant was not served with the action in sufficient time and in such a way as to enable him/her to arrange for his/her defence, unless the defendant has failed to exercise his/her rights to challenge the judgment in question (point b) and in case of existence of an irreconcilable judgment in the country of enforcement regarding the same dispute between the same parties (points c and d). Also enforcement under the same article can be denied in case that the issuing Court is not competent under the Brussels Ia Regulation provisions to hear a case on insurance, labour or consumer contracts or in case that a dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of some other member state (point 5). No révision au fond is allowed (art. 52) and the jurisdiction of the foreign court cannot be questioned (art. 45 par. 3).
As regards the remaining Regulations mentioned in the above paragraph, there is hardly any room for non-enforcement, since the non-enforcement provisions of these Regulations are applied exceptionally.
How are the reasons of non enforcement under the Brussels Ibis Regulation applied by the Greek Courts?
Generally, Greek Courts are very careful with the application of the provisions for non-enforcement of foreign judgments under Brussels a Regulation (and its predecessors Brussels I and Brussels Convention). To our knowledge, there are very few Greek judgments under which enforcement of other EU member states has been denied. They are limited to the provisions of arts 34 and 35 of Brussels I Regulation, which are largely identical to article 45 of Brussels Ia.
What is the procedure of enforcement in Greece by virtue of the EU regulations?
The most important novelty of Regulation 1215/2012 is the non-existence of exequatur, which is a major departure from Regulation 44/2001. This will allow the enforcement of a foreign judgment of an EU member state in Greece without any prior application before its Courts. The foreign judgment, along with a form annexed to the Regulation shall be served on the defendant in Greece and enforced directly, without any intermediate procedure in Greece. Under the same Regulation, the foreign judgment can only exceptionally be challenged under the procedure of art. 46, for the reasons mentioned in art. 45 of Regulation Brussels Ia. The judgment on this challenge is subject to appeal and further appeal before the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) the latter for legal reasons only. The Courts in Greece can always suspend, limit the enforcement proceedings to provisional measures or make enforcement provisional on security, following an application of the defendant to this effect as per art. 44 of the Brussels Ia Regulation.
ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS FROM NON-EU MEMBER STATES
Can foreign judgments be enforced in Greece on different legal bases, such as International Conventions?
Yes. Greece is party to a number of bilateral International Conventions which include provisions on the enforcement of judgments. More particularly, Greece has signed and ratified International Conventions in this field with a number of countries (or as the case may be, in the wider field of judicial assistance which include provisions on enforcement). Such bilateral conventions apply in relation to Austria, Armenia, Albania, Bulgaria, People’s Republic of China, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Slovakia as successor states of Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Lebanon, Poland, Romania, Russia, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Yugoslavia - now in force in relation to its successor states. Further, Greece is party to a number of Multilateral Conventions such as Brussels Convention of 1969 on civil liability for oil pollution damage (other multilateral conventions where Greece is party to, are limited to the fields of family law and maintenance obligations).
What is the case with judgments issued in a non-EU member state or in a country with which Greece has not entered into an International Convention?
Enforcement is possible under the Greek Code of Civil Procedure articles 904 seq.
Is enforcement in Greece easy under the Greek Code of Civil Procedure?
Greece had adopted a very liberal system, not only as regards the country of origin of the judgment but also as regards the reasons of non-enforcement. As said above, for the countries which are not members of the EU and have not entered into bilateral conventions with Greece, enforcement is possible under the Greek Code of Civil Procedure. Under art 904 point στ) of the Code of Civil Procedure, foreign titles (the term includes judgments) are enforceable in Greece, provided that they are declared enforceable in Greece by the competent Court (Monomeles Protodikeio), as per art. 905 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
What are the reasons of non-enforcement under the Greek Code of Civil Procedure?
Under art. 905 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it is required that a foreign judgment must have the binding nature of a title of enforcement in the country of issuance in order for it to be enforceable in Greece. Further, a foreign enforcement title will not be enforced in Greece if it violates the Greek ordre public (art. 905 par. 2) or if the conditions of art. 323 points 2-5 are not met. In that article, which contains the defences to recognition of foreign judgments and applies mutatis mutandis on enforcement, it is mentioned that the recognition (and by virtue of art. 905 the enforcement only as regards points 2-5) of the foreign judgment will be allowed only in case that it is res judicata in the country wherefrom it emanates (point 1) and certain requirements are met. More particularly it must be that following the “mirror principle”, the foreign court was competent to hear the particular case on the basis of the Greek International Procedural Law (point 2), the defendant who lost was not deprived of its rights to a fair trial, unless this was done on the basis of the applicable foreign procedural law which does not discriminate in favour of its nationals (point 3), the foreign judgment is not irreconcilable with a Greek judgment between the same parties on the same dispute which is res judicata in Greece (point 4).
What is the particular enforcement procedure under the Code of Civil Procedure?
The One Member Court of First Instance (Monomeles Protodikeio) hears the case and issues a judgment after taking into account the defence (if any) of the defendant, such defence been based on the above reasons of non-enforcement (art. 905 par. 1). The Court of Appeals (Efeteio) is competent to hear any ordinary appeal to the judgment of the Monomeles Protodikeio and the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) is competent to hear any extra-ordinary appeal (only on points of law). Given that révision au fond is not possible, the control by the Efeteio and the Areios Pagos will be limited in practice to the same issues presented in the previous paragraph.
What is the approach of the Greek Courts as regards enforcement under the Greek Code of Civil Procedure?
Generally, Greek Courts are very careful with the application of the provisions for non-enforcement of foreign judgments. To our knowledge, there are rather few Greek judgments under which enforcement has been denied, mostly on ordre public grounds.
ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN AWARDS
Can arbitral awards issued in any country be enforced in Greece?
YES. Foreign awards can be enforced in Greece irrespectively of the country where they have been issued. This can be done by virtue of the New York Convention for its contracting states, by virtue of bilateral conventions and by virtue of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure for the rest of the world.
Has Greece adopted the UNCITRAL model arbitration law?
YES. It has been incorporated into law 2735/1999 under the title “Law on International Arbitration” which regulates international arbitration conducted in Greece. Under art. 36 of this law, foreign arbitral awards are to be enforced in Greece under the 1958 New York Convention, which has been incorporated into Greek law by legislative decree 4220/1961. Domestic arbitration is regulated by articles 867-903 Code of Civil Procedure. This means that different provisions apply in respect of purely domestic and international arbitration in Greece, while enforcement of foreign awards is primarily made under the New York Convention.
ENFORCEMENT OF AWARDS ISSUED IN NEW YORK CONVENTION MEMBER STATES
Is Greece party to the 1958 New York Convention of the enforcement of foreign awards?
YES. As said above, Greece is party to this Convention and there is also considerable Greek case law on the Convention. This means that all judgments issued by Courts in the rest of the contracting states of the New York Convention are enforceable in Greece under this particular Convention (legislative decree 4220/1961).
What are the reasons of non enforcement under the New York Convention and how are they applied by the Greek courts?
Art. V of the New York Convention (as incorporated into Greek law by legislative decree 4220/1961) applies in this respect. Under this article, a foreign award will not be enforced in Greece if it violates Greek ordre public (point 2b) and if it is not suitable for settlement by arbitration under Greek law (point 2a) (arbitrability). These two points can be controlled by the Greek Court on its own motion. Also, a foreign award will not be enforced if the arbitration agreement were invalid under its law or the law of the award (point 1a), if the parties were not capable of entering into an arbitration agreement (point 1a), if questions of due process of the arbitration, particularly on the notice to the defendant were not observed (point 1b), if the foreign award surpasses the scope of the arbitration agreement (point 1c), if the composition of the Tribunal was not in line with the agreement of the parties or the applicable law (point 1d) and if the award is not final and conclusive (point 1e). All these points must be pleaded and proved by the defendant. It must be said that generally Greek Courts are very liberal in applying the above provisions and most foreign arbitral awards are enforced in Greece without any problem.
ENFORCEMENT OF AWARDS FROM NON-NEW YORK CONVENTION CONTRACTING STATES
Can foreign awards be enforced in Greece on different legal bases, such as International Conventions?
Yes. Greece is party to a number of bilateral international conventions which include provisions on the enforcement of awards. More particularly, Greece has signed and ratified international conventions in this field (or in a wider fields such as judicial assistance which includes provisions on enforcement) with Cyprus, Germany, Hungary, Lebanon, Romania, Syria, USA and Yugoslavia - now in force for its successor states.
What is the case with judgments issued in a non-New York Convention contracting state or in a country with which Greece has not entered into an International Convention?
Such judgments are enforceable in Greece under the relevant provisions of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure, as presented hereunder.
What is the particular enforcement procedure of foreign awards under the Code of Civil Procedure?
Under art. 906 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it is the procedure of art. 905 point 1, as is the case with foreign courts’ judgments as well. Therefore, the Monomeles Protodikeio is competent to declare the award enforceable. Any defence will be based on the reasons of non-enforcement mentioned in art 905 hereunder. The Efeteio is competent to hear any ordinary appeal to the judgment of the Monomeles Protodikeio and Areios Pagos is competent to hear any extra-ordinary appeal (only on points of law).
What are the reasons of non-enforcement of the arbitral awards under the Greek Code of Civil Procedure?
Under art. 906 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the reasons of non-enforcement are the ones of art. 903. Reasons of non-enforcement of awards include (a) the invalidity of the arbitration agreement under its governing law, (b) the fact that, under Greek law, the subject matter of the dispute could not be resolved by arbitration, (c) the fact that the foreign award is not final and conclusive, (d) the fact that the defendant was deprived of its right of defence in the course of the arbitral proceedings, (e) the existence of a Greek court judgment on the same dispute between the same parties and (f ) the finding of the Court that the award violates Greek ordre public.
What is the approach of the Greek Courts regarding enforcement of foreign arbitral awards under the Greek Code of Civil Procedure?
Generally, Greek Courts are very careful with the application of the provisions for non-enforcement of foreign awards. To our knowledge, there are only few Greek judgments under which enforcement has been denied, mostly on ordre public grounds.
Are arbitration and other ADR methods developed in Greece?
A number of disputes having an international dimension find their way to international arbitration, especially ICC arbitration. Local arbitration is also practiced. Related provisions have been included in the Code of Civil Procedure, whereas a number of local institutions such as the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Energy Regulatory Authority have adopted arbitration rules and have a list of arbitrators. A recent initiative with promising future is EODID, which also has non-Greek arbitrators in its list. There is also a law on mediation (4512/2018), which has incorporated the EU mediation directive (2008/52 EC) in Greece. Todate only a limited number of cases have been resolved by mediation, despite the extensive efforts by various institutions to boost this ADR method. Cross-border mediation is also practiced and always remains a possibility.
