The amendments made by law 4745/2020 are an important step toward the compliance of the current legislation with the provisions of article 6 par. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (E.C.H.R.), which refers to the fundamental right of every human being to the speedy settlement of his pending legal disputes. In addition, a substantial amendment is the implementation of the procedural model of the New Regular Procedure of Law 4335/2015, by which the hearing is abolished, and the exceptional examination of witnesses is established.

For this reason, the new Law adds articles 4a to 4k to article 4 of the Law 3869/2010, the main changes of which are analyzed as follows:

Who will be affected?

The new regulations concern the pending debt settlement applications based on Law 3869/2010, whose hearing has been determined for no sooner than 15.06.2021.

Which is the procedure for the precipitation of the hearing?

Those interested shall submit a request for redetermination, which is a call for hearing in accordance with the procedure set by law, because otherwise the application is considered as never instituted.

The application for redetermination is submitted digitally and exclusively through the Single Digital Portal of Public Administration using the electronic platform of the Special Secretariat for Private Debt Management, through an authorized attorney. This application shall contain all the data mentioned in Article 4B of the new law, which include, in principle, the details of the applicant and his creditors, against whom the settlement is sought, the details of the pending debt settlement application as well as the procedural details of the case. In addition, consent to waive tax and bank secrecy of both the applicant and his close relatives (i.e. any spouse and minor child) is required.

Deadlines for submitting a redetermination request

Subject to penalty for inadmissibility, the hearing’s redetermination request shall be submitted within specific deadlines, depending on the time the debt settlement application was filed, as shown in the table below:

Special cases: Regardless of the time of filing the debt settlement application, cases that are postponed after the present comes in full force and have a court hearing after 15.06.2021, the redetermination request shall be submitted from 01.12.2020 until 30.06.2021. The same applies to cases that are canceled after the new law comes into full force and are resumed by summons and with a hearing date from 15.06.2021 onward.

Notice of application

Notices are given via e-mail through the electronic platform The applicant may also provide written notice according to articles 122 – 143 of the Civil Procedure Code.

Mediation

It is worth noting that at each stage of the trial, any party has the right to invite the other parties to resolve their disputes extrajudicially through the institution of mediation by applying the relevant provisions of Law 4640/2019.  The deadlines set forth by this new law are nor suspended by unilaterally expressing the desire for mediation by submitting a relevant invitation. Finally, once an agreement is reached between the parties, the lawsuit is automatically terminated for the parties involved.

In conclusion, the establishment of these regulations is twofold. On the one hand, it aims to permanently protect borrowers who are unable to pay off their debts and who have a set date for the hearing of their case even after a decade and thus to consolidate the temporary protection framework provided by Law 3869/2010 to all those who are entitled to it. On the other hand, these regulations aim to regulations is to avoid “ostrich – like” attitude against the so-called “bad payers”, who, having received a sufficiently far in the future trial, enjoy the privileges and favorable status provided by law 3869/2010 for a lengthy period, which can neither be considered fair nor effective.

So, with these controversial additions, the provisions of substantive law of Law 3869/2010 are left intact, while the main goal is the acceleration of the adjudication of the pending cases of the Household Insolvency (Katselis) Law by the end of December 2021.