Dispute Resolution (Arbitration & Ligigation)

Our firm’s team of litigation lawyers enjoys extensive experience in dealing with the judicial and extra-judicial resolution of disputes of both civil and administrative nature before all courts in Greece, including the Supreme Court, the Council of State and the Court of Audit. We also have a demonstrated track record in representing clients in arbitration and litigation proceedings linked to high-profile disputes arising under or in connection with State-awarded contracts in the defense and public contracts sectors.

Our practice focuses on the following:

  • Amicable and judicial (arbitral and in-court) settlement of disputes arising under or in connection with the existence, validity, performance, termination and interpretation of all types of investment and commercial contracts including share sale and purchase, joint venture, commercial agency, licensing, leasing, franchising, and distribution agreements;
  • Arbitration and litigation of complex disputes arising in relation to State-awarded contracts, including in the defense procurement and public works and concessions sectors;
  • Litigation of tax disputes;
  • Handling appeals against decisions by regulatory authorities, including the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission and the Hellenic Competition Commission, and decisions by public authorities imposing administrative fines and penalties;
  • Handling proceedings for annulment of central and local government acts and decisions.

Recent highlights of our dispute resolution practice include successfully acting as attorney to/ representing:

  • Vodafone and Nestlé in multimillion-worth tax disputes before the Athens administrative courts involving the retroactive application of stamp duty on intra-group cash pooling transactions;
  • the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) in litigation proceedings (applications for annulment before the Council of State) challenging the validity of the privatization procedure in respect of the Greek gaming and betting agency (OPAP SA) and questioning the legality of a long-term extension of the exclusive rights granted OPAP from the standpoint of European Union law;
  • the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) in its defense in a series of administrative law disputes triggered by the applications for annulment before the Council of State brought by various stakeholders challenging the validity of the privatization procedure in respect of the multibillion-worth Hellinikon project consisting in a sale of a majority stake in the share capital of Hellinikon SA;
  • Vodafone in litigation proceedings before the Council of State relating to fines of more than €80 million in aggregate imposed by the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (HTPC) and the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (HACSP) further to the alleged monitoring (wiretapping) of Vodafone’s mobile network during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games;
  • Nea Odos SA, the concessionaire of the project for the construction and long-term operation of the Ionia Odos Motorway, in its defense against the imposition of €10 million in fines by municipal and local authorities on grounds of alleged violations of urban planning and building laws and regulations;
  • COSCO Pacific Limited and its Greek subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal SA in a lawsuit brought by a civil engineering consulting company regarding the legal validity and force of a services engagement agreement allegedly concluded with our client for the provision of consulting services in the value range of €6 million;
  • the operator of the national electricity network (LAGIE SA) in its defense before the Council of State in favor of the imposition of an extraordinary solidarity contribution on RES and CHP stations of an estimated total amount of €400 million in revenue;
  • the Hellenic Private Hospitals Association and several individual private hospitals in litigation proceedings challenging the legality of Ministerial Decisions imposing claw back and rebate mechanisms to provide for a haircut of fees payable by the National Organization for the Provision of Healthcare Services (EOPPY) to hospitals for healthcare services rendered to patients insured with EOPPY;
  • Club Hotel Casino Loutraki in its legal actions against the Greek State and Greek local authorities aiming at the recovery of amounts totaling €40 million resulting from the State’s and local authorities’ participation in gambling gross revenues.

For more information on our Dispute Resolution practice, please contact us.

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