Recognition of Foreign Judgments and Divorces

A decision issued by a foreign court can be implemented in Greece, provided it is officially translated in Greek and it satisfies the basic conditions of the law. For example, a divorce from another country, other than Greece must be obtained from the authority that issued it, in a certified and official form and in its most detailed version. We handle the legal procedure of recognition and implementation in Greece. Judgments may also require the Apostille stamp (Convention of the Hague of 5 October 1961) or, for the countries which have not adhered to this Convention, it must be certified by the Greek Consulate of that foreign country where the judgment has been issued.

The translation of the foreign judgment in Greek can be done either by a translator affiliated with the Greek Consulate, or by the Translations Office of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens, or by a lawyer in Greece who speaks the language of the foreign judgment. That last option is possibly the most preferable since a lawyer in Greece can interpret the text in a way most understood by judges, jurists and public authorities in Greece.