Mediation Becomes Established ADR Mechanism in Greece
The Greek Parliament recently voted on a new piece of legislation that enables the parties to a dispute to submit to mediation at any stage of the dispute and in effect comply with the provisions of the EU Mediation Directive 2008/52/EC for various commercial law matters. The draft paper on this new law was just voted on, on 9 December 2010, and its scope covers all cross-border disputes whether deriving from litigation or arbitration routes.
The law allows for the establishment of local ADR providers (which would be private, not-for-profit corporations jointly formed by a local Bar Association and a local Chamber of Commerce) and are accredited by a Mediation Certification Committee, under [...]
The Supreme Court of Greece Paves the Way for International ADR
The Supreme Court of Greece, further to its recent ruling in favor of enforcing international arbitral awards in Greece, issued a second ruling in favor of international ADR. In a recent decision, the Supreme Court found that a major dispute deriving from a contract which contained an arbitration clause with a clear reference to ICC arbitration in Paris (involving both contractual and tort law issues including, inter alia, compensation and damages totaling millions of Euros) is subject to arbitration in its entirety and for all types of disputes.
The facts involve a distribution agreement of a major weapons entity and its contractual obligations vis-à-vis third parties, such as the Greek a [...]
Enforceability of Foreign Arbitral Award in the Greece: An Enlightening Supreme Court Decision
An interesting issue regarding the enforceability of foreign arbitral awards, in relation to the provisions of the New York Convention of 1958 and its alleged conflict with domestic Greek Civil Code provisions in relation to conflict of laws and public policy doctrines arose in Greek jurisdiction. The matter is of specific interest as the dispute went all the way up to the Supreme Court for determining the viability of enforcing the particular foreign arbitral award in Greece.
The actual arbitration dispute arose in late 2004 in relation to a distribution agreement of 1998 between an American and a Greek company regarding medical equipment. The parties’ contractual arbitration clause calle [...]
