Legal Question in International Law in Greece

Re: Service of court summons

It is not clear from the question as to which country's court's summons are to be served on an entity in Greece. Each country has its laws, rules and regulations and procedures for serving summons, issued by its Courts, upon a person / company in foreign country.

Like in India, if the summons issued by Indian Courts to be served upon say a Greek company in Greece, then these are addressed to Court, Judge or Magistrate, as the case may be, within whose jurisdiction the entity is available, and these are routed through concerned department of the Govt. like Ministry of External Affairs, etc.

For service of summons in criminal cases, the relevant law is contained in Section 105 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973.

For service of summons in civil cases, the relevant law is contained in Section 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908.

The importnt thing to be remembered is that there should be some kind of a treaty for mutual assistance in legal matters between the two countries. In the absence of such treaty, it is not possible to effectively serve summons of one country's court on a person in other country.

Sunil Goel, advocate

Re: Service of court summons

The process is controlled by international treaties. That means we'd have to know the countries involved. You can try googling to search for the right treaty, but this can become very complicated; let me know if you want assistance.

Re: Service of court summons

Greece is a party to the Hague Convention on Service of Process. If the country where the writ of summons originates is also a party, use of that convention is the easiest way. However, your question indicates "SG," which I take to be Singapore, and Singapore is not a party to the Hague Service Convention or, to my knowledge, any other treaty on service of process to which Greece is a party. If that is the case, the Singapore Court would issue a letter rogatory to the courts of Greece asking for their assistance in serving the defendant, and confirming that the Courts of Singapore would extend the same comity to the Courts of Greece. Use of local counsel in the country where service is to be effected is critical. Of course, particularly if you do not anticipate needing to enforce the judgment in Greece, you may be able to serve process in other ways that would be valid under Singapore law, even if not recognized in Greece.

Also, Greece will treat service as valid if it is effected in Greece by a Greek bailiff, who can be hired for this purpose without seeking a letter rogatory through the courts, but again, it is advisable to do this with the assistance of a Greek attorney.

Any documents served in Greece, for service to be considered valid there, must be translated into Greek, with the translation sworn to by the translator before a notary public or other person authorized to administer oaths, and then (if done outside Greece) be authenticated through diplomatic channels (which is a cumbersome process, so it is probably easier/cheaper to get it translated and certified in Greece).