Florides: New Code of Civil Procedure from 16 September 2025 – From now on final decision in 650 days

2 weeks ago 9

Justice Minister George Florides described it arsenic a tragic information that final decisions were issued by Greek courts successful 1,500 days and present with the caller provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure will beryllium issued successful 650 days.

Innovative provisions are included successful the new Code of Civil Procedure presented contiguous by Justice Minister Giorgos Florides and Deputy Justice Minister Ioannis Bougas, with the eventual purpose of importantly reducing the clip it takes to contented tribunal decisions, successful an effort to bring the issuing clip up to European levels.

The implementation of the caller provisions of the CCP volition commencement with the caller judicial twelvemonth (16 September 2025) and volition use to each lawsuits etc. filed successful the caller judicial year, portion pending cases volition beryllium heard nether the existent CCP.

In particular, the caller provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, arsenic analyzed by Mr. Bougas, instrumentality a bid of targeted interventions, which are expected to service arsenic an organization instrumentality to trim the clip for the issuance of last and conclusive judgments.

This legislative inaugural is portion of the roadmap announced by the Ministry of Justice during the adoption of the Judicial Charter, aiming to maximize the benefits of its implementation and its complementary cognition with different bills of the Ministry of Justice, specified arsenic the transportation of judicial worldly to lawyers nether Law 5095/2024.

Specifically, the extremity is for Greece to execute the mean of the Council of Europe countries, from 1,492 days for the issuance of a last determination presently required, to 1 twelvemonth (about 350 days) for the issuance of a last determination and 2 years (about 650 days) for the issuance of a last decision.

For this reason, the betterment of the Code of Civil Procedure concerns each procedural stages, from the filing of the opening little astatine archetypal lawsuit to the issuance of a last (and subsequently irrevocable) judgment.

As an illustrative example, it was mentioned that nether the existent circumstances, successful the Athens Court of First Instance, a lawsuit is heard aft 3 years from the filing of the suit and the determination is issued aft months. Overall, connected average, successful the Athens Court of First Instance, it takes 3 to 4 years for a last determination to beryllium issued, “which is not successful enactment with the citizens’ request for speedy and effectual justice”, Mr Florides stressed.

However, with the implementation of the caller CPC, last decisions volition beryllium issued within:

– Within 6 months the decisions of mean proceedings,

– successful 4 months for judgments successful voluntary proceedings and

– successful 1 period for decisions connected interim measures.

Procedure

One of the innovative proposals of the caller CCP is the establishment of exclusive and binding clip limits for some parties connected some sides and for the judges who complaint the cases

The caller provisions besides effort to marque usage of “pre-trial time,” which presently expires without immoderate meaningful action. The regularisation aimed astatine limiting and decently utilizing the clip of pre-trial is that of the caller Article 237 of the CCP.

Article 237 of the CCP establishes for the archetypal clip the preliminary introspection of the enactment by the judge, who, if helium finds immoderate deficiencies oregon defects successful the lawsuit file, issues an bid declaring the enactment inadmissible oregon indefinite and sets a circumstantial deadline for the enactment to close oregon implicit it, if possible. If that time-limit expires without that play having expired, the bid shall beryllium confirmed, the proceedings shall beryllium closed and the lawsuit shall beryllium removed from the register. The effect of this process is the elimination of immoderate rehearing, since immoderate omission oregon defect successful the enactment whitethorn person been completed oregon corrected by the enactment anterior to the hearing, by virtuousness of the said bid issued by the judge.

In different words, the caller provisions drastically trim the pre-trial play (Article 237 of the CCP), i.e. the clip betwixt the filing of the suit and its treatment successful the hearing, and besides the clip from the time of the treatment until the issuance of the tribunal determination for which, until now, the parties and lawyers person been waiting for years successful their proceeding room.

In different words, the clip earlier each lawsuit is heard successful the courtroom is utilized to the fullest extent, with thorough pre-screening by a judge, truthful that cases are brought to the courtroom ripe for hearing.

Under the existent standards for the proceeding of a civilian case, the archetypal record is closed aft astir 130 days and past 2.5 to 3 years tin walk without immoderate judicial enactment being taken and of people without the lawsuit reaching the hearing.

Where appeals volition beryllium filed

Another innovation brought astir by the caller CCP is that it “breaks” the decades-long procedural constitution wherever appeals against decisions issued are filed successful the tribunal that issued the decision.

In different words, nether the existent procedural framework, erstwhile the Court of First Instance issues a judgement and the losing enactment appeals and the entreaty is filed with the Court of First Instance that issued the judgement being appealed.

Then, aft immoderate months, the entreaty is serviceably forwarded to the Court of Appeal on with each the lawsuit record that has been formed. There the registry identifies the Division to which the lawsuit volition beryllium forwarded and aft immoderate months the President of the Division volition acceptable a day for the lawsuit to beryllium heard successful the proceeding aft respective months oregon years.

That is, successful summation to the load connected the tribunal registries, determination is simply a agelong bureaucratic play until the lawsuit (file) is transmitted from the Court of First Instance to the Court of Appeal, portion the assignment of the proceeding of the entreaty is made aft immoderate years.

Now the caller proviso does the obvious. The filing of appeals from the archetypal decisions volition not beryllium filed successful the Court of First Instance that issued the decision, but volition beryllium filed successful the Court of Appeal that volition perceive the appeal, frankincense resetting the clip taken to perceive cases successful the Court of Appeal and reducing the magnitude of the dunks of briefs that signifier successful the tribunal registries.

Dockets

According to different amendment to the CCC, wills and the declaration of a volition arsenic a main (as good arsenic the issuance of the applicable certificates, which contiguous are excessively delayed owed to the judicial process) volition present beryllium done by notaries wrong a week i.e., from 1 to 7 days, whereas contiguous astatine slightest 300 days are required, portion sealing and unsealing are transferred arsenic responsibilities from notaries to bailiffs, arsenic the astir competent ones.

Documentation

A cardinal innovation of the provisions of the caller CCP is the instauration of an physics level successful bid to run the mechanics of the integer lawsuit file. This level is already being “set up” successful practice betwixt the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Digital Governance.

The implementation of the integer lawsuit record volition commencement successful 2025 and volition archetypal beryllium connected to the Land Registry Offices.

The integer docket, wholly eliminates paper, arsenic lawyers from their offices volition present record lawsuits and the different eleven instruments electronically, and volition beryllium capable to travel the advancement of each lawsuit from the filing of the suit successful the Court of First Instance, aboriginal successful the Court of Appeal, until the last determination is issued by the Supreme Court.

Thus, alternatively of moving to the tribunal registries and filing powers of attorney, contracts and immoderate different documents indispensable for themselves, present from their office, lawyers volition electronically transportation retired their pleadings, lawsuits, motions and different ineligible remedies successful the integer lawsuit file.

Using the passwords they person received, lawyers volition beryllium capable to entree the documents successful the lawsuit record astatine immoderate clip and behaviour procedural actions online.

All tribunal decisions, each evidentiary documents, each witnesser statements and immoderate different grounds relating to the lawsuit volition stay permanently stored successful the integer lawsuit file.

The level volition besides facilitate the physics outgo of the tribunal fees required for the filing of documents, portion it volition supply the anticipation of issuing copies of the Book of Offences and Incidents of the Hellenic Police done an physics application.

Katseli Law

The integer lawsuit record volition beryllium instrumental successful discharging the thousands of pending cases connected the Katseli Law (Law 3869/2010) for over-indebted households with reddish loans that person been passed connected to servicers (aka funds).

The enactment of the Ministry of Justice estimates that with the cognition of the integer lawsuit file, the much than 32,000 pending cases successful the courts of archetypal lawsuit for the implementation of the Katseli Law volition beryllium cleared and decisions volition person been issued wrong the adjacent 3 years.

Transfer of tribunal files

As portion of a thrust to decongest the judges and courts, the Justice Ministry enactment is again moving guardant with a caller transportation of tribunal worldly to lawyers and notaries.

New tribunal substance volition again beryllium transferred to lawyers and successful peculiar the issuing of outgo orders volition beryllium transferred. A outgo bid is not a tribunal decision, but an “act” of the justice and is issued without immoderate proceedings successful the hearing. A outgo bid concerns claims for wealth oregon claims connected securities e.g. cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, etc.

Notaries are passed connected to the notaries for the work of wills. Currently, it takes astatine slightest 1 to 1 and a fractional years to people a volition successful Athens, portion a minimum of 5 months is required to contented a certificate of non-publication of a will.

It should beryllium noted that owed to the agelong delays successful the work of wills, connected the 1 hand, immense assets with a precise ample fiscal entity are astatine stake, connected the different hand, hundreds of millions of euros from inheritance taxes, etc.

Reduction of pre-trial time

One of the innovative proposals of the caller CCP is the instauration of exclusive and binding deadlines for some parties connected some sides, arsenic good arsenic for the judges who complaint the cases.

The caller provisions drastically trim the pre-trial play (Article 237 of the CCP), i.e. the clip betwixt the filing of the suit and its treatment successful the hearing, and the clip from the time of the treatment to the issuance of the tribunal determination for which the parties and lawyers person been waiting for years successful their proceeding country until now.

In different words, the clip earlier each lawsuit is heard successful the courtroom is being utilized to the fullest extent, with thorough pre-screening by a judge, truthful that cases are brought to the courtroom ripe for hearing.

Lawyers’ Code

As mentioned by the Deputy Minister of Justice, the legislative initiatives for the coming play see cardinal changes to the Lawyers’ Code. For this reason, the President of the Plenary of the Presidents of the Bar Associations Dimitris Vervesos and the President of the Union of Judges and Prosecutors Christoforos Sevastidis person been invited to the Ministry of Justice.