Sanctions law · Greece
Find a sanctions lawyer in Greece who knows the routes your case can take
Sanctions questions travel across borders, currencies and legal systems, and in Greece they land in a codified civil-law system with three separate branches of justice. Tell us what you are facing — a held payment, a compliance question or correspondence from an authority — and we will match you free of charge with a Greek lawyer whose work covers sanctions matters.
- Specialist lawyers admitted to a Greek Bar Association
- Civil, criminal and administrative routes identified early
- Free matching, with a first response usually within 24–48 hours
Free matching · No obligation · Regulated Greek lawyers
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The situation
Sanctions questions that start in Greece rarely stay local
Sanctions touch businesses, shipping companies, banks, exporters and individuals in Greece, and the questions they raise rarely stay inside one legal system. You may be facing a held payment, a restricted account, a compliance review, a customs delay or correspondence from an authority that expects a documented answer. We do not give legal advice; we listen to what has happened, identify the type of sanctions matter involved and match you — free of charge — with a sanctions lawyer in Greece whose practice covers it. Greek lawyers are admitted through a Bar Association and exercise a profession that the Code of Lawyers treats as a public function, so your file stays with a regulated professional bound by professional secrecy and subject to disciplinary oversight.
Greek legal framework
How a sanctions file runs into Greek procedure, courts and costs
Greece applies codified statutes rather than binding precedent, and the way a sanctions-related dispute is handled depends heavily on which branch of justice it enters. These are the structural points that shape the work of a sanctions lawyer in Greece.
A codified civil-law system
Greece follows the continental model: statutory law and the Constitution are the primary sources of law, and the Civil Code has been codified by Presidential Decree 456/1984. Decisions of the higher courts promote uniform interpretation but are not formally binding precedent, so the applicable statute and regulation matter more than any single earlier ruling.
Three branches, three destinations
The judiciary is organised into civil, criminal and administrative jurisdictions. Civil and criminal cases end at the Court of Cassation (Areios Pagos), which reviews legal correctness only and does not re-examine the facts; challenges to administrative acts go before the administrative courts under the Council of State, with the Court of Auditors handling fiscal audit matters.
Who is entitled to act for you
Membership of a Bar Association is compulsory in order to practise law in Greece. Under Law 4194/2013 a lawyer acquires that status after passing the nationwide bar examinations, receiving a ministerial appointment decision, taking the statutory oath and being entered in a Bar register. The Athens Bar alone has roughly 22,000 members.
Fees, court costs and VAT
Court fees are set by statute and include a proportional judicial stamp duty on the value of civil claims, with exemptions for public entities and legal-aid recipients. A lawyer’s fee is freely agreed in writing under Article 58 of the Code of Lawyers; without a written agreement the statutory scale applies. Fees carry 24% VAT.
The lawyer’s statutory character
Article 1 of the Code of Lawyers describes the lawyer as a public functionary whose office is a foundation of the rule of law, exercising the profession as a co-operator of the administration of justice and bound by legal professional secrecy. Disciplinary control sits with the Bar Associations, which is relevant when sensitive correspondence and evidence are involved.
Timing behind the sanctions question
Sanctions matters often carry an ordinary civil or commercial claim underneath. Greek limitation periods apply: twenty years for general civil claims, five years for commercial, professional-fee and periodic claims, and five years for tort claims with a twenty-year absolute bar. Delay reduces the options available.
The country data on this page is drawn from official Greek and European sources (the Greek Ministry of Justice, the Plenary of the Greek Bar Associations and the European e-Justice Portal) as published at the time of writing.
- European e-Justice Portal — National justice systems: Greece
- Plenary of the Presidents of the Greek Bar Associations — the legal profession
- European e-Justice Portal — Costs of proceedings: Greece
- Greek Ministry of Justice — Greek Civil Code (Presidential Decree 456/1984)
- Greek Ministry of Labour — individual employment relations
- Independent Authority for Public Revenue — inheritance tax for non-residents
- European e-Justice Portal — Divorce and legal separation
Common problems
What brings people to us
Sanctions problems rarely announce themselves clearly, and the first few weeks usually decide how well a file can be managed.
A hold you cannot explain
A payment is stopped, an account is restricted or a counterparty withdraws, and the explanation you receive is general rather than specific to your file. Every reply you send without clarity on the framework risks narrowing your options.
Several legal systems at once
The company, the bank, the cargo and the contract may each sit in a different country, so a question that starts in Athens can end up being examined under more than one set of rules and before more than one authority.
Time and reputation
Commercial claims in Greece can be time-barred after five years and general civil claims after twenty, while a pending review or a rejected transaction carries its own commercial cost. Early, accurate advice is worth more than a fast reply.
Why use our service
How the matching works
We are not a law firm. We are the shortest route to the right regulated Greek lawyer for your matter.
Regulated Greek lawyers only
Every professional we match you with is admitted to a Greek Bar Association under Law 4194/2013, bound by legal professional secrecy and subject to disciplinary control by the Bar.
Specialisation rather than availability
We look for lawyers whose practice genuinely covers sanctions-related work — compliance, cross-border disputes, administrative and criminal exposure — instead of the nearest general practitioner who happens to answer the phone.
Free matching, no obligation
You describe the situation and we identify the practice area and the profile of lawyer required. There is no cost to be matched, and you decide afterwards whether to instruct the lawyer.
One enquiry, several angles
A single request covers the civil, criminal and administrative dimensions at once, so you are not left contacting separate firms and repeating the same background to each of them.
Coverage
Working across Europe
Sanctions files frequently involve more than one jurisdiction, so we also match clients with counsel in the European countries most often connected to Greek matters.
Frequently asked questions
Sanctions lawyer in Greece: your questions answered
What does a sanctions lawyer in Greece actually do?
Typically this means advising on restrictive measures, reviewing transactions and counterparties, answering authorities and defending clients where a freeze, a blocked payment or a compliance failure is the central issue. In Greece the lawyer also has to decide early whether the matter belongs before the civil, criminal or administrative courts.
Which Greek court would deal with my case?
Greece has three judicial branches. Civil and criminal cases end at the Court of Cassation (Areios Pagos), which reviews only legal correctness and not the facts, while challenges to administrative acts are heard by the administrative courts under the Council of State. The correct route depends on the act you are challenging.
Must my lawyer be a member of a Greek Bar Association?
Yes. Membership of a Bar Association is compulsory to practise law in Greece. Admission under Law 4194/2013 requires passing the nationwide bar examinations, a ministerial appointment decision, the statutory oath and registration with a Bar. Advisers outside that system cannot represent you before the Greek courts.
How are lawyers’ fees and court costs handled in Greece?
Fees are freely agreed in writing between you and the lawyer under Article 58 of the Code of Lawyers; where no written agreement exists, the statutory scale based on the value of the matter applies. Fees carry 24% VAT, and free legal aid under Law 3226/2004 may be available within the income threshold.
Are there deadlines I should already be watching?
Often there are. Greek limitation periods include five years for commercial and tort claims and twenty years for general civil claims, and administrative or criminal steps can carry their own shorter windows. A lawyer can map the specific deadlines that apply to your file rather than to a general example.
Can you advise me on my own sanctions situation?
No. We are a matching service, not a law firm, and we do not give legal advice. We take the details of your situation, identify the relevant practice area and connect you free of charge with a sanctions lawyer in Greece who can advise you properly.
Next step
Tell us what happened — we will find the right Greek lawyer
Write a few lines about your situation: what was blocked, restricted or questioned, which authorities are involved and where the counterparties are based. We review it, identify the practice area and match you free of charge with a Greek lawyer who handles sanctions matters.