The subject matter of commercial litigation

The core focus of our practice lies in the field of commercial litigation. The majority of our clients are businesses, and we are therefore called upon on a daily basis to address various issues of corporate life that end up being litigated in the courtroom. Commercial disputes encompass all judicial or extrajudicial disputes that arise between business parties — merchants, companies, consumers — and concern commercial transactions: the collection of claims arising from invoices and contracts, disputes arising from commercial leases, disputes over negotiable instruments (cheques, bills of exchange), commercial intermediation contracts (agency, distribution), competition-law issues, and so on. Representation may concern both the business creditor seeking collection and the debtor defending against aggressive judicial or enforcement action.

Collection of Commercial Claims — The Two Stages

The collection of a commercial claim is divided into two distinct stages. First, the creditor needs an enforceable title — usually a payment order or a final and irrevocable judgment. Second, on the basis of that title, the creditor pursues compulsory enforcement against the debtor’s property. Designing the collection route correctly — which tools to choose, in what order, and at what time — largely determines whether the claim will be satisfied or remain on paper. Experience shows that a failure to collect is usually due not to the absence of a legal title but to a delayed or mistaken choice of measures.

Issuance of an enforceable title — Payment Order

The payment order is the fastest mechanism for obtaining an enforceable title. It is issued upon application, provided that the claim and its amount are proven by documents (invoices, acknowledgements of debt, account statements). Law 5221/2025 significantly amended the institutional framework for issuing payment orders, by transferring the competence to issue them to lawyers, and also by introducing changes to the debtor’s means of defence for annulling a payment order that has been issued. The issues surrounding the opposition against a payment order are developed in detail in the Complete FAQ Guide on the Opposition against a Payment Order.

Compulsory enforcement and interim measures

The “arsenal” of compulsory enforcement under the Code of Civil Procedure includes: attachment of immovable property, attachment of movables, and garnishment in the hands of a third party (usually bank deposits, salaries, rents). Garnishment in the hands of a third party, in particular, is the fastest and most effective procedure, since it targets assets held by third persons (customers, employers, banks) and avoids the delay and cost of conducting an auction. At the same time, interim measures — and in particular the conservatory attachment as well as the prenotation of mortgage — make it possible to secure collection of the claim once a final and irrevocable judgment has been issued, preventing the debtor from divesting themselves of their property. See in detail: Compulsory Collection after Repeated Attempts to Conceal Income.

European Account Preservation Order (EAPO)

The European Account Preservation Order, EAPO, allows a creditor to freeze the debtor’s bank accounts in other EU Member States, without prior warning. It is used in cross-border commercial disputes where the debtor maintains bank deposits outside Greece. It is a crucial instrument of international collection that operates in parallel with the Greek interim measures and is activated upon application to the competent court.

Opposition against a Payment Order and the new framework of Law 5221/2025

The opposition against a payment order is the debtor’s principal legal remedy. The law provides for a specific deadline and specific grounds — objections arising from the underlying relationship, insufficient documentary proof, abusive issuance, and so on. In addition, the debtor may file an application for suspension of enforceability, in order to prevent the pursuit of acts of compulsory enforcement until the judgment on the opposition is issued. Suspension is granted where the opposition is likely to succeed and where the debtor would suffer irreparable harm from the enforcement.

In case law, a payment order may be annulled where: (a) sufficient documentary proof is lacking — e.g. an incomplete extract from commercial books; (b) the underlying contract is void or suffers from another defect; (c) an abuse of right is established, and so on. At the same time, the development of case law has recognised the possibility of issuing a payment order on the basis of electronic documents — even with a simple electronic signature — provided that the document meets the requirements of the law.

Commercial Leases and Court Disputes

In commercial leases, governed by Presidential Decree 34/1995 as in force after Law 4242/2014, our firm handles court disputes concerning actions for surrender of the leased premises, actions for rent adjustment, and the lessee’s objections. The action for surrender of the leased premises is brought upon expiry of the lease, in the event of the lessee’s persistent default (systematic delay in paying rent) or termination of the lease for breach of contractual obligations. The lessee may raise objections — disputing the alleged default, an objection of impossibility or that no debt is owed, an objection of abuse of right, and so on.

Rent adjustment under Article 288 of the Civil Code is granted where, in continuing contracts, the circumstances on which the parties relied have changed substantially (e.g. a pandemic, a significant fall in commercial value, a change in land use). Case law has developed detailed criteria for assessing an unforeseen change of circumstances and the collapse of the basis of the transaction. The relevant strategy is developed in the article Action for Rent Adjustment for a Commercial Business as well as in Action for Surrender of the Leased Premises and the Related Objections of the Lessee. On matters of subletting, transfer of the lease at auction, or early termination of the contract, different rules apply depending on the nature of the lease (indefinite or fixed-term, with or without a renewal clause, and so on).

Commercial Intermediation Contracts — Agency and Distribution

In commercial agency and distribution contracts, the principal issues that lead to litigation are termination for serious cause, the agent’s goodwill (clientele) indemnity upon expiry of the contract, and post-termination competition terms. The goodwill indemnity is calculated on the basis of the commissions of recent years and the contribution of the agent or the exclusive distributor to the expansion of the clientele. Where the serious cause for termination is attributable to the agent himself (e.g. breach of confidentiality or loyalty obligations, the setting up of a parallel competing activity, and so on), the claim for goodwill indemnity is excluded. See the Defence against an Action for Goodwill Indemnity and the judgment of the Athens Court of Appeal dismissing an action for goodwill indemnity. At the same time, in financial-leasing (leasing) cases we undertake both the defence of the lessee against actions by the lessor company and the pursuit of collection by the lessor against the lessee.

Law of Negotiable Instruments — Cheques and Bills of Exchange

Negotiable instruments — cheques and bills of exchange — are autonomous titles that give rise to claims independent of the underlying relationship. The creditor, as holder of the instrument, can obtain a payment order quickly. From the debtor’s side, the defence requires careful examination of the formal requirements of the title, of any defects in the endorsement, and of the elements of the underlying relationship. Where a dishonoured (uncovered) cheque is issued, the corresponding criminal offence is also established, so that a combined approach is required.

Countering the Defrauding of Creditors and Complex Corporate Structures

When the debtor transfers assets or “hides” behind a new company in order to avoid collection, the creditor has two basic tools. First, the actio Pauliana / action for rescission for defraudment of creditors (Article 939 of the Civil Code), which is brought to annul dispositive transactions of alienation made with the intention of harming creditors. Two basic conditions: the alienation must have taken place after the claim arose, and the third-party acquirer must have known (or, in the circumstances, ought to have known) of the debtor’s fraudulent intent (with the exception of gratuitous transactions, where no such knowledge is required). Second, the action against a successor company that acquired the debtor’s business or clientele: in a relevant case, our firm secured the collection of a commercial claim from a successor company on the ground of a transfer of clientele.

Services provided

By way of indication, we provide the following services:

• Support in court disputes relating to commercial leases (actions for surrender of the leased premises, actions for rent adjustment).
• Judicial handling of disputes arising from the law of commercial intermediation contracts (agency, distribution, franchising).
• Judicial support in financial-leasing cases (leasing).
• Collection of commercial claims: obtaining interim measures (conservatory attachments, prenotations of mortgage), pursuing compulsory enforcement (attachments of immovable property, garnishment in the hands of a third party, attachments of movables).
• Filing applications for the issuance of, and oppositions seeking the annulment of, payment orders.
• Law of negotiable instruments (cheques, bills of exchange) — compulsory collection and defence against aggressive action.
• Actio Pauliana against acts defrauding creditors, and actions against successor companies.
• European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) in cross-border commercial disputes.
• Debtor’s defence against abusive payment orders and acts of compulsory enforcement.
• Strategic collection planning on a case-by-case basis — choosing the tool and the timing of its activation.

Are you facing a commercial dispute?

Every commercial dispute has a different procedural starting point and a different collection or defence strategy. The choice of the appropriate tool and the timing of its activation determine the outcome. Contact our team for a personalised assessment and the design of a legal strategy.