A company operating across borders discovers, mid-dispute, that the Greek court it has relied upon now applies tighter deadlines and revised filing requirements. Documents prepared under the old rules are rejected. Hearings are rescheduled. Enforcement of a judgment that seemed imminent is delayed by months. This is not a hypothetical – it is the practical consequence of missing a procedural change in Greece's civil procedure rules.
Amendments to Greek civil procedure, effective from the first quarter of 2025, introduce revised timelines for submitting a statement of claim (the formal initiating document in Greek civil litigation). Updated electronic court filing requirements. Additionally, tightened conditions for obtaining an interim injunction (asfalistika metra. provisional measures under Greek procedural law). All companies with active or anticipated litigation in Greece must audit their pending matters against the new rules before the applicable compliance deadline.
This alert explains what changed, which business categories are directly affected, and the five immediate steps that international companies should take now.
What the amendments change – and when they apply
Greece's amended civil procedure rules entered into force in early 2025. The changes affect several interconnected areas of litigation practice.
Electronic court filing. Greek civil procedure now mandates electronic submission of procedural documents through the national court portal for the majority of commercial claims. Paper filing remains permitted only in defined exceptional circumstances. Any court filing submitted outside the electronic system – unless an exception applies – risks rejection at the registry stage.
Revised deadlines for the statement of claim. The window within which a claimant must formally serve and file a complete statement of claim has been shortened. Under the prior rules, litigants had a longer preparatory period after initiating proceedings. The amended civil procedure rules compress this window. Missing the deadline does not merely create a procedural irregularity – it can result in the claim being struck from the court list entirely.
Interim injunction criteria. The conditions for obtaining interim protection – including asset freezes and injunctions against contractual breaches – have been tightened. Courts now apply a more explicit proportionality assessment. Applicants must demonstrate both the urgency of the measure and its proportionality to the potential harm. Practitioners in Greece note that applications lacking detailed proportionality arguments are being refused at a higher rate than before the amendments.
Judgment enforcement mechanics. The rules governing judgment enforcement have been updated to align with EU enforcement directives. Cross-border enforcement of Greek judgments in other EU member states, and the recognition of foreign judgments in Greek courts, now follow a streamlined but stricter procedural path. Creditors relying on older enforcement orders should verify their continuing validity under the new rules.
For context on how comparable procedural reforms have been handled in other EU civil law jurisdictions, see our alert on court procedure developments in Portugal.
Who is affected – threshold criteria and compliance deadline
The amendments apply to all civil and commercial proceedings before Greek courts where a hearing date, filing deadline, or enforcement step falls on or after the effective date in early 2025. The following business categories face the most direct exposure.
- Foreign companies with pending Greek litigation – any matter already before a Greek court must be reassessed against the new electronic filing and deadline rules.
- Creditors holding Greek court judgments – parties seeking judgment enforcement must confirm that their enforcement title remains operative under the revised enforcement mechanics.
- Companies with interim injunction applications in progress – pending or planned applications must be reframed to satisfy the proportionality criteria now applied by Greek courts.
- Businesses entering new commercial disputes in Greece – all new claims filed from early 2025 onward are subject to the amended civil procedure rules in their entirety.
The compliance deadline for existing matters is immediate. There is no transitional grace period for proceedings already underway. A claimant whose statement of claim was prepared under the prior rules but not yet filed must revise and resubmit the document to comply with current requirements.
For expert assessment of how these amendments affect your current or anticipated litigation in Greece, contact us at info@ferrazwhitmore.com.
Immediate actions for international companies
Five steps address the most pressing compliance risks arising from the amendments.
1. Audit all active Greek proceedings. Map every matter before a Greek court against the new filing deadlines and electronic submission requirements. Identify any step due within the next 60 days. Treat each upcoming deadline as potentially subject to the amended rules, even if the proceeding was initiated before 2025.
2. Verify electronic filing access. Confirm that your Greek counsel has active access to the national court portal and that all procedural documents for pending matters are formatted for electronic submission. A technical failure at the portal does not automatically suspend deadlines – the risk of late filing remains with the party.
3. Reassess interim injunction strategy. If your dispute strategy relies on obtaining provisional measures, review your application against the tightened proportionality standard. An application that was viable under prior rules may now require additional factual and legal support to succeed.
4. Confirm enforceability of existing judgments. If you hold a Greek court judgment and have not yet initiated enforcement, verify that the judgment remains enforceable and that the enforcement procedure aligns with the updated rules. This is especially relevant for judgments more than 12 months old.
5. Brief in-house teams on the revised timeline structure. International companies whose in-house legal teams coordinate Greek litigation should be informed that the deadlines they were previously working to may no longer apply. Updated instruction templates for Greek proceedings are advisable.
For a detailed review of your litigation exposure in Greece under the amended civil procedure rules, our corporate disputes practice in Greece can provide a structured assessment of your pending matters. Advice on broader litigation and arbitration strategy in Greece is available through our litigation and arbitration practice in Greece.
About Ferraz & Whitmore
Ferraz & Whitmore is an international law firm based in Lisbon, advising business clients across 46 jurisdictions. Our team combines Portuguese civil law expertise with English common law tradition to deliver cross-border legal solutions in commercial litigation and court procedure matters across Europe, including Greece. We work with international entrepreneurs, institutional investors, and in-house legal teams who need results-oriented counsel in civil law systems. Engaging a lawyer in Greece or coordinating litigation across European jurisdictions requires a law firm in Greece and the EU with genuine procedural depth. our litigation practice covers court filing requirements. Interim injunction strategy. Additionally, judgment enforcement across 15 practice areas and multiple legal systems. To discuss how the Greek court procedure amendments affect your matters, contact us at info@ferrazwhitmore.com.
Disclaimer: This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. Ferraz & Whitmore assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@ferrazwhitmore.com.