The Association of Societes Anonymes and Entrepreneurship (SAEE) has submitted a proposal for the establishment of a “Court for Economic Activities” (CEA), modeled on the French system, aiming to speed up judicial processes in business disputes and improve investor confidence, making Greece a more attractive investment destination.

During a public event, SAEE Vice President Ioanna Anastasopoulou presented the proposal to Pelopas Laskos, Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, highlighting the benefits of the proposed court: faster dispute resolution and improved business quality—ultimately benefiting the commercial sector and beyond.

The proposed CEA is inspired by France’s Tribunaux des Activités Économiques, launched on January 1st of the current year. These French courts centralize the handling of complex economic disputes, offering specialized and fast-track justice tailored to today’s business challenges.

For the next four years, these French tribunals will operate on a pilot basis, taking over responsibilities from 12 commercial courts and adding further functions assigned by founding legislation.

According to SAEE, the Greek version of these courts would test new methods and procedures to increase judicial efficiency and support innovation and sustainable economic growth.

SAEE emphasized that specialized and efficient justice reduces legal uncertainty, shortens case processing times, and enhances predictability and stability—key factors for attracting foreign investment.

Jurisdiction of the Court for Economic Activities (CEA)

According to SAEE, the court’s jurisdiction would cover:

• All extrajudicial and collective business procedures, regardless of the legal form or sector of the involved entities.
• Commercial lease-related disputes, when sufficiently connected to collective proceedings under law.
• Disputes involving freelancers, civil companies, associations, and even agricultural matters, without significant legal changes to those sectors.

For example, farmers would benefit from the CEA’s judicial expertise in preventing financial difficulties, which could provide critical support to the agricultural sector.

In response, Mr. Laskos referenced the positive results of integrating Justices of the Peace into Courts of First Instance, as well as upcoming amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure, which are expected to accelerate justice delivery.

He also praised the work of specialized court divisions—such as those handling maritime cases—and committed to forwarding SAEE’s proposal to the Ministry of Justice for further consideration.