Greek Book on Service of Process Abroad

Dr. Apostolos Anthimos has published Service of Process Abroad: A Practical Guide (Domestic Law • Bilateral Treaties • Hague Service Convention • Regulations 1348/2000 & 1393/2007) in Greek.

This book grew out of the experience of the author’s engagement with cross-border legal practice for nearly two decades. It gives the full picture on serving Greek proceedings to litigants abroad. A purely practical approach has been opted: Its main purpose is the immediate access to key information on a state by state basis. This is accomplished by a clear-cut description of the applicable law and the presentation of the reported case law for each country separately.

The existing legislative framework is summarized in the introductory chapter. The analysis is based on the 4-level model, well known for many countries around the globe, i.e., domestic provisions (Article 134 Greek Code of Civil Procedure), bilateral agreements, the Hague Service Convention, and EC- Service Regulations 1348/2000 & 1393/2007.

The main part of the book elaborates each country separately. The material varies, depending on socio-economic ties and factors. For instance, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, the UK, USA, and Australia are strongly represented on the respective chapters, in comparison with many African, Asian and Latin American legal orders, where no conventional link or case law has been traced. All chapters have the following structure: First, the connecting factors on the legislative level, plus any existing declarations from the state in question. Secondly, the elaboration of Greek case law on the service of process to litigants with residence or seat in the respective country.

The annexes of the book host all bilateral conventions signed by Greece on the matter, the text of the Hague Service Convention, coupled with the declarations made by Greece, and the text of EC-Regulation 1393/2007. The case law coverage is fully updated, and includes all decisions reported until October 2013.

The publisher is Sakkoulas Publications (Thessaloniki, 2013, XX + 325 pages, ISBN/ISSN: 978-960-568-042-8, Price: EUR 28).