Greek commercial law is structured broadly similarly to that of Germany. EU law has played a major harmonizing role, particularly through directives governing areas such as commercial agency, distribution, and company law, thereby reducing the scope for distinctive national developments through domestic legislation or case law.
Greek commercial law is governed by a variety of statutes. Although Greece formally possesses a Commercial Code, its scope today is limited. The Code, originally enacted in 1835, has been largely superseded by later, more specialized legislation that diverged from the original codification.
Provisions still in force from the 1835 Code primarily concern:
- Definitions of commercial activities, and
- Certain rules on transport and forwarding contracts.
Modern Greek commercial law has therefore become a multi-source system, drawing on:
- The Civil Code (for general contract and obligations law),
- Special commercial statutes (e.g., company law, securities law, bankruptcy law), and
- EU directives and regulations, directly or indirectly harmonizing the field.
Greek commercial law follows the French legal tradition, unlike the Germanic system of the HGB. It combines two approaches:
Certain activities are expressly designated as commercial, including:
- Purchase and sale of goods
- Provision of services
- Industrial and manufacturing operations
- Forwarding and warehousing
- Banking and financial services
- Insurance and related transactions
The general concept of the “merchant” (emporos) is recognized, encompassing persons who professionally engage in commercial activities.
Commercial activities in Greece may be conducted either by:
- Individuals registered as merchants, or
- Companies organized in one of several statutory forms.
Main business forms include:
Partnerships
- General partnership (Omorythmos Etaireia – OE)
- Limited partnership (Eterorrythmos Etaireia – EE)
- Silent partnership (Afonos Etaireia)
Corporations
- Public limited company (Anonimi Etaireia – AE)
- Private limited company (Eteria Periorismenis Efthynis – EPE, similar to a German GmbH)
- Private company (Idiotiki Kefalaiouchiki Etaireia – IKE), introduced in 2012 as a more flexible, modern form resembling the UK limited company (Ltd).
All merchants and companies must be registered with the Greek General Commercial Registry (Geniko Emporiko Mitroo – GEMI). Registration serves to establish legal existence and publicize corporate and commercial information.
Before registration with GEMI, each entity must:
- Obtain a tax identification number (AFM) and register its activity with the tax authorities, and
- Ensure that relevant persons (e.g., managers, directors, partners in partnerships or EPEs) are registered with the social insurance fund (OAEE – now integrated into EFKA, the Unified Social Security Fund).
While both Greece and Germany distinguish between civil and commercial transactions, their systems differ in structure:
- Germany relies on the HGB, a unified and modernized commercial code.
- Greece retains a fragmented structure, combining its 19th-century code with numerous modern statutes and EU-derived rules.
Nevertheless, EU harmonization has significantly narrowed the practical differences between the two systems, especially in company law, competition law, and trade contracts.