VOLUNTARY JURISDICTION

Judicial guardianship refers to the legal status imposed by a court decision on a person due to mental, physical, or behavioral disorders. During this period, the person is deemed incapable of carrying out certain or all legal acts independently and may require the consent of the judicial guardian to validly execute such acts.

The protection of the individual’s personality and dignity, in accordance with constitutional imperatives, is the cornerstone of the legal framework governing judicial guardianship, both in terms of substantive and procedural law. The protection offered, as well as the procedural mechanism through which it is implemented, has been carefully structured so that, despite the individual’s condition, their personality is neither violated nor diminished or undermined.

In order to safeguard these values, the law on judicial guardianship expressly and exclusively enumerates the specific grounds which, once judicially verified to apply to the person concerned, may lead to the imposition of a guardianship regime. This transition occurs through a structured judicial procedure aimed at ensuring both legality and respect for the rights of the individual.

The following individuals may be placed under judicial guardianship:

• An adult who, due to mental or intellectual disorder or physical disability, is wholly or partially unable to manage their own affairs.
• An adult who, due to prodigality, substance dependence or alcoholism, endangers themselves, their spouse, descendants, or ascendants with the risk of deprivation.
• A minor who is under parental care or guardianship, if the relevant conditions apply during the last year of minority. In such cases, the effects of judicial guardianship commence upon reaching the age of majority.
• An individual serving a custodial sentence of at least two years.

Who initiates the judicial guardianship procedure?

Judicial guardianship, as provided in Article 1667 of the Greek Civil Code, is ordered by the court. A petition for the initiation of the procedure may be submitted by:

• The individual concerned (the person with the condition)
• Their spouse, provided they are in a marital cohabitation
• Their parents
• Their children
• The Public Prosecutor or, in certain cases, ex officio by the court itself

Furthermore, according to paragraph 2 of the same article, if the person suffers solely from a physical disability, the court may act only upon their own application.

Legal consequences of being placed under judicial guardianship:

With regard to the legal consequences of judicial guardianship, the court that places a person under guardianship may:

• Declare the individual incapable of performing all (full) or certain (partial) legal acts, on the grounds that they are unable to act on their own behalf (deprivation of legal capacity – “substitutive” judicial guardianship); or
• Determine that the validity of all (full) or certain (partial) legal acts requires the consent of the judicial guardian (supportive judicial guardianship); or
• Decide on a combination of the above two regimes.

Civil registry records serve as the exclusive proof of the events that define the civil status of each individual, primarily birth and death, but also events such as naming and marriage. Article 782 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure sets out the specific requirements for the issuance of a final court decision certifying an event, either to create or to amend a civil registry entry.

The term “event” within the meaning of Article 782 CCP includes both natural events (such as birth or death) and legal acts (such as marriage or naming). These may be certified by a court decision in order to enable the drafting or correction of a registry act.

Based on this framework, the following have been classified as falling under voluntary jurisdiction:

• Change of surname following a prefectural decision (Single-Member Court of Thessaloniki 13/1972)
• Correction of an adoption certificate in which the patronymic was omitted (Single-Member Court of Chalkida 966/1973)
• Correction of a child’s birth date for school-related purposes (Single-Member Court of Thessaloniki 140/1979)
• Certification of the correct first name for the amendment of an inaccurately recorded registry entry (Single-Member Court of Piraeus 86/2005)
• Correction of a person’s first name in the civil registry because the given name is displeasing, confusing, resembles a surname, or obstructs the person’s free personal development (Supreme Court 570/1981)
• Amendment of a birth certificate to reflect the correct gender, first name, and surname following gender confirmation surgery (Single-Member Court of Heraklion 255/2013)

It is not uncommon for minors to become heirs without their own or their parents’ knowledge, due to the mistaken belief that the renunciation period begins upon reaching the age of majority. As a result, adults may later find themselves burdened with excessive debt from inheritances that were not properly renounced on their behalf in time.

Therefore, in cases involving debt-laden inheritances, parents must formally and timely renounce the inheritance on behalf of their minor children, so that the children are not unjustly held liable for obligations that were not of their making. This renunciation requires a special court authorisation.

The application for such authorisation is submitted by the parents to the clerk of the local Magistrate’s Court (Peace Court) in the region where the minor resides. The court hears the case under the procedure of voluntary jurisdiction.

Deadline for Renunciation of Inheritance by a Minor

The renunciation of inheritance on behalf of a minor must be carried out within an exclusive deadline as provided in Article 1847 of the Greek Civil Code. As a rule, this period is four months, except in two specific cases where the deadline is extended to one year: (a) if the deceased had their last residence abroad, or (b) if the heir became aware of the inheritance while residing abroad.

Commencement of the Renunciation Deadline

According to paragraph 1 of Article 1847 of the Civil Code, the deadline for renunciation of inheritance begins when the heir becomes aware of the inheritance and the cause thereof. In the case of inheritance by will, the period begins after the will has been published. If the heir is legally incapacitated, the relevant knowledge is assessed in relation to their legal representative.

Specifically, in the case of a minor under parental care, the decisive factor is when the parents acquire knowledge of the inheritance. Thus, the four-month deadline begins from the moment the parents become aware that their child has inherited.

This Regulation, which entered into force on 1 March 2002, simplifies the procedure for declaring a foreign judgment enforceable compared to the Brussels Convention of 1968, which it replaced. The provisions of the Regulation are directly applicable, meaning that any individual may invoke them before a court. It is not applicable in Denmark, where the Brussels Convention continues to apply.

The Regulation establishes the following rules:

• Judgments issued and enforceable in one Member State shall be enforced in another Member State once declared enforceable (or, in the case of the United Kingdom, once registered for enforcement) upon application by any interested party.
• The application is submitted to the competent court. Territorial jurisdiction is determined by the domicile of the person against whom enforcement is sought or by the place of enforcement.
• The judgment is declared enforceable once certain formalities are completed. The declaration is served or notified to the respondent, who may challenge it only by means of an appeal.
• A foreign judgment shall not be recognised only if its recognition is contrary to public policy, if it is irreconcilable with a previous judgment, if the defendant was not duly served with the initiating document, or if the defendant defaulted in the proceedings.

According to Article 904 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure, a foreign court judgment that has been declared enforceable by a Greek court constitutes an enforceable title. A foreign decision does not acquire enforceability in Greece unless it is formally recognised as enforceable by the Greek judiciary.

Pursuant to Article 905 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the competent court for such declaration is the Single-Member Court of First Instance (Monomeles Protodikeio) in the district where the debtor has their domicile. If the debtor has no known domicile, jurisdiction lies with the court in the district of their residence. If neither domicile nor residence exists, the competent court is the Single-Member Court of First Instance of the capital city of the country.

The court adjudicates the matter under the procedural rules set out in Articles 740 to 781 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure, which regulate cases under voluntary jurisdiction.