The legal system of Greece
A civil-law system based on the 1975 Constitution and the codes, with diffuse constitutional review exercised by all courts and a Special Highest Court resolving conflicts. An EU and eurozone member.
Legal tradition
Greece belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system based on the 1975 Constitution and the codes, with diffuse constitutional review exercised by all courts and a Special Highest Court resolving conflicts. An EU and eurozone member.
How power is divided
A parliamentary republic with a largely ceremonial President, a Government answerable to Parliament and an independent judiciary organised into civil/criminal, administrative and audit branches.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- The 1975 constitution as revised.
- EU law
- Directly applicable and, in its field, paramount.
- Statutes of Parliament
- Laws and authorised presidential decrees.
- Codes
- The Civil Code, Penal Code and procedural codes.
The legal profession
Dikigoroi (advocates) belong to local bar associations; symvolaiografoi (notaries) authenticate deeds and property transfers.
Law by topic in Greece
- Constitutional LawThe 1975 Constitution with diffuse review by every courtGreece is a parliamentary republic under the 1975 Constitution. Unusually in Europe, there is no single constitutional court: every judge may refuse to apply an unconstitutional statute, with a Special Highest Court resolving disagreement between the supreme courts.
- Criminal LawThe 2019 Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure with an investigating judgeGreece enacted new Penal and Criminal Procedure Codes in 2019, reducing sentence severity and simplifying procedure. Serious cases are investigated by an investigating judge, and mixed courts of judges hear the gravest offences.
- Employment & LabourStatutory minimum wage, sector agreements and digital work recordsEmployment law rests on statute and collective agreements, with a government-set minimum wage. Recent reforms introduced the ERGANI digital work card, tightening the recording of actual working hours.
- Business & CorporateThe 2018 company law reform, the IKE vehicle and GEMI registrationCompany law was modernised by Act 4548/2018 for public companies and Act 4072/2012 for the flexible private company (IKE). All companies register in the General Commercial Registry, GEMI, and one-stop-shop formation is available.
- Immigration & NationalityEU free movement plus the Immigration Code and a property-based residence permitEU nationals move freely. Non-EU nationals fall under the Immigration and Social Integration Code, which provides residence permits for work, study and family, and a well-used residence permit for property investors.
- Family LawConsensual divorce before a notary and a presumption of shared parentingFamily law sits in the Civil Code. Divorce by agreement can be completed by notarial deed without a court hearing, and a 2021 reform introduced a strong presumption in favour of joint exercise of parental responsibility.
- Civil ProcedureThe Code of Civil Procedure with written-first proceedings and payment ordersCivil litigation follows the Code of Civil Procedure, reformed in 2015 to front-load written submissions and confine hearings. A payment order procedure gives creditors an enforceable title on documentary proof.
- Human RightsConstitutional rights, the ECHR in domestic law and an independent OmbudsmanThe Constitution protects individual and social rights, and ratified human-rights treaties including the European Convention have superior force to ordinary statute. The Greek Ombudsman is a constitutionally recognised independent authority.
- Property & LandNotarial transfers, the transition to a national cadastre and a lawyer-led diligence cultureReal-estate transfers require a notarial deed and registration, and Greece is completing a shift from the old mortgage-registry system to a modern national cadastre. Leases are governed by the Civil Code with specific commercial-lease rules.
- Tax LawProgressive income tax, corporate tax and the ENFIA property levyResidents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates, with a separate solidarity history and a schedule for rental and business income. Companies pay corporate income tax, and real estate is taxed annually through ENFIA.
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