Greece

Limitation periods.

Greece runs an unusually long 20-year default with a five-year carve-out that captures essentially every commercial and recurring claim. For a business creditor the operative number is therefore 5 years, not 20.

Preventive measures.

Greek law starts from freedom of form — a commercial supply contract is valid orally (Άρθρο 158 ΑΚ), so writing is an evidentiary and enforcement question, not a validity one. The high-value move is to convert the debt into an enforceable title up front. Counterparties can be checked against Γ.Ε.ΜΗ. (ν. 4919/2022), the Ελληνικό Κτηματολόγιο, the ν. 2844/2000 pledge register and the Ηλεκτρονικό Μητρώο Φερεγγυότητας (Άρθρο 213 Ν. 4738/2020).

Συμβολαιογραφικό έγγραφο

Notarial deed. A debt recorded in one is directly enforceable without any prior judgment — the single most valuable pre-dispute protection available to a Greece-facing creditor. Άρθρο 904 § 2 περ. δ΄ ΚΠολΔ

Εγγύηση

Suretyship. Written form is a validity requirement — a guarantee not declared in writing is void, though the defect is cured if the guarantor performs the debt. Άρθρα 847 επ., 849 ΑΚ

Υποθήκη

Mortgage over immovables. Requires a title plus registration in the Κτηματολόγιο or Υποθηκοφυλακείο, and ranks by registration order. Άρθρο 1257 ΑΚ

Προσημείωση υποθήκης

Mortgage pre-notation — a provisional measure ordered by the court, not a contract. Converts into a full υποθήκη retroactively once the claim is finally established. The workhorse Greek security in practice, far more common than a consensual mortgage. Άρθρο 706 ΚΠολΔ

Ενέχυρο χωρίς παράδοση

Non-possessory pledge and floating charge. The pledgor keeps possession and use; publicity comes from registering the pledge agreement in the dedicated public register. Greece's answer to the security-over-inventory problem. Ν. 2844/2000

Ενέχυρο

Possessory pledge over movables. Requires delivery of the asset plus a notarial or certified-date private document identifying the claim — commercially awkward for trading stock. Άρθρο 1211 ΑΚ

Όρος διατήρησης της κυριότητας

Retention of title. On the buyer's default the seller may either demand the price or withdraw and exercise ownership rights. Zero-cost, contractual, and standard in commercial supply. Άρθρο 532 ΑΚ

Τειρεσίας Α.Ε.

Private interbank credit-risk bureau covering bounced cheques, unpaid bills, payment orders, auctions and bankruptcies. Market infrastructure — not a state register; access is generally limited to member financial institutions and to the data subject. private-sector operator

Amicable phase.

The distinctively Greek escalation step is the εξώδικη δήλωση — an extrajudicial notice formally served by a δικαστικός επιμελητής, which produces a dated, court-usable service report and puts the debtor unambiguously in default. Above 30.000 € in the ordinary track, a compulsory initial mediation session is a precondition of admissibility, not an option.

Court proceedings & costs.

The claimant pays the δικαστικό ένσημο and any παράβολο upfront. Lawyer fees are freely agreed in writing — «Η αμοιβή του δικηγόρου ορίζεται ελεύθερα» (Άρθρο 58 § 1 Ν. 4194/2013) — and the published scale is a fallback where there is no agreement, plus the basis for cost-taxation, legal aid and the γραμμάτιο προείσπραξης. Treat the percentages below as reference values, never as a floor.

Court hierarchy.

Greece abolished a whole court tier in September 2024. Any guide, form or database entry still treating the Ειρηνοδικείο as a live first-instance court is out of date — ν. 5108/2024 unified first-instance civil jurisdiction into the πρωτοδικεία with effect from 16.09.2024, leaving 56 πρωτοδικεία with a main seat (down from 63), a further 7 former πρωτοδικεία as παράλληλες έδρες, and 19 εφετεία. The Μονομελές Πρωτοδικείο hears pecuniary disputes up to 250.000 € (Άρθρο 14 ΚΠολΔ); the Πολυμελές hears everything above, and also sits on appeal from the Μονομελές where the value does not exceed 60.000 € (Άρθρο 18 § 2 ΚΠολΔ, raised from 30.000 € on 01.01.2026). Alongside the civil branch sit the Διοικητικά Πρωτοδικεία and Εφετεία, the Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας and the Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο. Disposition times below are 2024 data for litigious civil and commercial cases.

1. 01
   First instance

   Μονομελές / Πολυμελές Πρωτοδικείο
   737 days
2. 02
   Second instance

   Πολυμελές Πρωτοδικείο / Εφετείο
   666 days
3. 03
   Third instance

   Άρειος Πάγος
   319 days

Procedural deadlines.

Μέρος Α' of ν. 5221/2025 applies to actions and summonses filed from 01.01.2026; pending cases keep the prior regime (Άρθρο 168 § 3). Note that the objection window against a payment order is one of the few Greek deadlines counted in working days.

Insolvency.

A single instrument — Ν. 4738/2020, Greece's transposition vehicle for Directive (EU) 2019/1023 — folds personal and corporate insolvency, out-of-court settlement, pre-insolvency restructuring and debt discharge into one code. The competent bankruptcy court is the Πολυμελές Πρωτοδικείο of the debtor's centre of main interests or principal residence (Άρθρο 78 § 1). The code was consolidated with ν. 5313/2026 on 25.06.2026.

Πτωχευτική ικανότητα

Natural persons and legal persons pursuing an economic purpose can be declared bankrupt. Public-law legal persons, local authorities and public organisations cannot. Ceasing to trade, or dying, does not bar bankruptcy — proceedings may follow within a year of death. Άρθρο 76 Ν. 4738/2020

Παύση πληρωμών

The primary trigger. It is presumed where obligations to the State, social-security funds or financial institutions go unpaid for six months at 40 % or more of those obligations, with a minimum unpaid amount of 30.000 €. Bankruptcy is declared only if the estate can cover the costs of the proceedings. Άρθρο 77 Ν. 4738/2020

Εξωδικαστικός μηχανισμός

A fully electronic, non-judicial multilateral negotiation run through the ΕΓΔΙΧ platform, covering debts to financial institutions, the State and social-security funds simultaneously. Financial institutions retain discretion whether to table a proposal — the mechanism does not compel a restructuring. Άρθρα 5–30 Ν. 4738/2020

Filing bars

Six lettered grounds bar an application outright. The first is a de minimis test: filing is not permitted where total debt to financial institutions, the State and social-security funds does not exceed 5.000 € — so a debtor at exactly 5.000 € is out. That floor has been 5.000 € only since 25.07.2026; sources predating it correctly said 10.000 €. Άρθρο 7 § 3 Ν. 4738/2020 · άρθρο 13 ν. 5313/2026

Public-side repayment ceiling

A term of a restructuring agreement is void if it provides for repayment of debts to the State and social-security funds in more than 240 δόσεις. This is a ceiling — «έως 240» — not an entitlement a debtor can demand: the actual number comes from the Άρθρο 71 calculation tool, and the 50 € minimum monthly instalment can bite first and produce far fewer. Άρθρο 22 § 1 περ. α΄ υποπερ. 1 Ν. 4738/2020

Financial-institution repayment maxima

The parameter «μέγιστη διάρκεια αποπληρωμής οφειλών προς χρηματοδοτικούς φορείς» sets 420 months for debts of natural persons covered by ειδικά προνόμια, 240 months for unsecured debts of natural persons and secured debts of legal persons, and 180 months for unsecured debts of legal persons. These are months, not instalments. For a natural person the maximum is re-adjusted by age and may not run past the debtor's 85th year at loan maturity — so a 60-year-old cannot reach 420 months whatever the privilege position. ΚΥΑ 77697 ΕΞ 2021, ΠΑΡΑΡΤΗΜΑ

Εξυγίανση

Collective pre-bankruptcy restructuring, requiring consent of creditors holding more than 50 % of claims in both the secured and the unsecured classes, and satisfying the no-creditor-worse-off principle. Limitation periods are suspended from the formal filing until the agreement completes. Άρθρα 31, 34 Ν. 4738/2020

Creditor ranking

Where both privilege classes concur with unsecured claims the split is ειδικά προνόμια 65 % / γενικά προνόμια 25 % / unsecured 10 %, and privileged claims never touch that 10 % reserve even if left unsatisfied. Above them all sits a υπερπρονόμιο for up to six months of unpaid wages, capped at 275 % of the minimum wage. Άρθρο 167 Ν. 4738/2020 · Άρθρα 975–978, 977Α ΚΠολΔ

Απαλλαγή του οφειλέτη

A natural-person debtor is discharged fully from every debt to bankruptcy creditors on expiry of 36 months from the declaration of bankruptcy, reduced to one year for debtors falling under Άρθρο 92 § 3. Άρθρο 192 Ν. 4738/2020

Arbitration.

Domestic arbitration runs on Άρθρα 867–903 ΚΠολΔ; international commercial arbitration on Ν. 5016/2023, which repealed ν. 2735/1999 and incorporates the UNCITRAL Model Law as amended in 2006. Given first-instance disposition times of 737 days and a backlog roughly five times the EU average, an arbitration clause is a materially different proposition in Greece than in a fast-clearing jurisdiction — that is a fact about timing, not a recommendation.

Arbitrability

Private-law disputes may be submitted to arbitration by agreement, provided those concluding it have power of disposition over the subject matter. Άρθρο 867 ΚΠολΔ

Form

The arbitration agreement is concluded in writing; it is otherwise subject to the substantive-law rules on contracts. Άρθρο 869 ΚΠολΔ

Enforceability of a domestic award

A διαιτητική απόφαση is an εκτελεστός τίτλος in its own right — no separate exequatur is required for a domestic award. Άρθρο 904 § 2 περ. β΄ ΚΠολΔ

Foreign awards

Greece is a party to the 1958 New York Convention, which has had force of law since 14.10.1962. Foreign awards are recognised and enforced through the Greek courts under the Convention. Ν.Δ. 4220/1961

Τμήμα Διαιτησιών ΕΒΕΑ

The Arbitration Department of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry administers commercial arbitrations under Άρθρα 867–903 ΚΠολΔ and, for international matters, Ν. 5016/2023. Note it is distinct from the Chamber's separate Κέντρο Διαμεσολάβησης. Π.Δ. 31/12.01.1979

ΕΟΔΙΔ

European Organisation of Mediation and Arbitration, Athens. Founded 2016; operates under rules modelled on the ICC, LCIA and AAA, with proceedings supervised by councils of retired senior judges and law-faculty academics. institutional ADR body