MEDIATION IN GREECE

With the contribution
of the
Greek Ministry of Justice
Transparency and Human
Rights
MEDIATION IN GREECE
EU and national legal
framework and practice
Kick-off conference
Athens, 30 June 2012
diamesolavisi.net

Mediation in Greece
EU and national legal framework and practice
The European Commission will organise a series of events
on mediation in Greece in 2012-13, the development
and practical implementation of which is taken over by
the Academy of European Law (ERA). The series’ objective
is to provide information on mediation at EU level and
present the recently adopted Greek legal framework.
The project includes the following activities designed to
reach a wide range of the general and legal Greek public:
• A website and publicity campaign, including a
press conference in Athens on 28 June 2012, in order
to raise awareness of mediation as an instrument and
of the organisation of this series of events.
• A kick-off conference on 30 June 2012 in Athens,
bringing together national and international experts
who will discuss mediation and alternative dispute
resolution and engage in an exchange of experiences.
• Three decentralised, interactive workshops from
November 2012 to March 2013 aimed at providing
practical training to judges, lawyers and notaries on
mediation.
Visit our website:
diamesolavisi.net
We are also present on
Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/pages/
Diamesolavisi/422883374418600
https://twitter.com/#!/ERATrier

Opening address – Welcome
Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission and Justice Commissioner
Representative of the Greek Ministry of Justice
Paraskevi Michou, Director, DG Justice, European Commission, Brussels
Speakers and Chairpersons
Ioanna Anastassopoulou, Founder and promoter of the Hellenic Centre for Mediation and Arbitration, attorney at law
and mediator, Athens
Apostolos Anthimos, Attorney at law, International legal consultant, Academic Assistant at the International Hellenic
University, Thessaloniki
Ioannis Chamilothoris, Judge at the Supreme Court, Athens
Professor Vassili Christianos, National and Kapodistrian Univesity of Athens, Director of the Centre of International
and European Economic Law (CIEEL)
Marcel Cremer, Attorney at law and mediator, Athens
Kelly Evangelou, Attorney at law, representative of the Athens Bar Association, member of the Mediators’
Accreditation Committee, Athens
Aristotelis Gavriliadis, DG Justice, European Commission, Brussels
Ana Maria Gonçalves, Mediator, Convirgente Lisboa, Lisbon
Bojana Jovin Hrastnik, State Attorney’s Office of Slovenia, former District Court judge, Ljubljana
Ilias Kanellopoulos, Judge, First Instance Court of Athens
Professor emeritus Nikolaos Klamaris, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Research Institute of
Procedural studies, Athens
Sofia Mouratidou, Notary, Thessaloniki
Manon Schonewille, Commercial mediator, ACB Foundation, Amsterdam
George Serghides, President of the Family Court of Nicosia-Kyrenia, adjunct Professor of the University of Cyprus
Dimitra Triantafyllou, Attorney at law and mediator, member of the Mediators’ Accreditation Committee, Thessaloniki
Stavros Vardalas, Legal Advisor at Athens Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI), Athens
Diana Wallis, Former Vice-President of the European Parliament
Markus Zalewski, DG Justice, European Commission, Brussels
Evangelos Zerveas, Hellenic Consumer Ombudsman, Athens

MEDIATION IN GREECE
EU AND NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK
AND PRACTICE
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Saturday, 30 June 2012
09:30 Arrival and registration of participants
10:30 Opening address
Viviane Reding (video message)
Welcome
• Representative of Greek Ministry of Justice
• Paraskevi Michou
I.
THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF MEDIATION
Chair:
Ioannis Chamilothoris
11:00 Setting the scene: alternative dispute resolution and the function of mediation
Diana Wallis
11:30 Mediation in the framework of the Greek Civil Procedure
Nikolaos Klamaris
12:00 The current legislative framework
Dimitra Triantafyllou
12:10 Discussion with the audience
12:30 Coffee break
Chair:
George Serghides
13:00 The EU Mediation Directive
Aristotelis Gavriliadis
13:30 Who can be a mediator? Mediators’ accreditation and European code of conduct
Manon Schonewille
13:50 Discussion with the audience
14:20 Lunch

II.
MEDIATION IN PRACTICE
Chair:
Vassili Christianos
15:30 Types of mediation: judicial, court-annexed and out-of-court mediation
Bojana Jovin Hrastnik
15:50 Ensuring efficiency: the role of the mediator, the lawyers and the judge
Ioanna Anastassopoulou
16:10 What skills should a mediator have?
Ana Maria Gonçalves
16:50 Example from practice: consumer mediation in Greece
Evangelos Zerveas
17:10 Discussion with the audience
17:30 Coffee break
III.
WHY MEDIATE INSTEAD OF LITIGATE?
18:00 Panel discussion
Introduction and chairing: Apostolos Anthimos
Members of the panel:
Marcel Cremer
Kelly Evangelou
Ilias Kanellopoulos
Sofia Mouratidou
Stavros Vardalas
19:10 Discussion with the audience
19:30 Concluding remarks and end of the conference
Markus Zalewski

More about the project
Publicity campaign and press event in Athens
The series of events will start with the implementation
of a large-scale publicity campaign to raise awareness of
mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method and
of the series of activities organised in Greece. A special
website has been created and a press conference will be
organised in Athens targeting general and legal media
from Greece and Cyprus.
Kick-off conference
The kick-off conference will highlight the importance
of out-of-court dispute settlement, the EU and national
legislation in this area, best practices from EU member
states and help raise awareness of the advantages and
opportunities offered by mediation. It will mainly consist
of presentations, a panel session and open discussion
sessions with the audience. The contribution of experts
from Greece and other member states will ensure a sound
exchange of experiences and the better understanding of
the subject matter. The event will run in Greek and English
with simultaneous interpretation provided.
The kick-off conference “Mediation in Greece: EU and
national legal framework and practice” will take place
on 30 June 2012 at the Megaron Athens International
Conference Centre. It will be targeted at legal professionals,
journalists, stakeholders and other potentially interested
networks from Greece and Cyprus.
Interactive workshops
Three further workshops will be addressed to lawyers,
judges, judicial staff and notaries and provide practical
training on mediation.
They will be organised in Thessaloniki, Patras and
Heraklion, allowing legal professionals from different
parts of Greece to attend the training without having to
travel or interrupt their professional activity. The first event
will be held in November 2012 in Thessaloniki and the two
following ones in January and March 2013 respectively.
The three workshops will be developed on the basis of
the same structure: background information on the
European and national legal framework will be provided
and the training will then focus on the practical aspects
of mediation, engaging participants in exercises aimed
at familiarising them with the procedures in place. A
combination of Greek and international experts will
provide a comprehensive training approach: participants
will have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge
with information on the practice in other member states
whilst retaining the national context. The language of the
workshops will be Greek, with interpretation provided for
the sessions involving international experts.
Each group of participants will consist of 30-40 lawyers,
judges, notaries and judicial staff members in order to
ensure interaction among legal professions and a better
understanding of how mediation may be integrated in
current judicial practice.

Registration form
MEDIATION IN GREECE:
EU AND NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND PRACTICE
Saturday, 30 June, Megaron Athens International Conference Centre
Event no.: 112DV105 /cs
Online registration:
www.diamesolavisi.net
To register by fax:
+49 651-93737-773
To register by post:
ERA, Postfach 1640, D-54206 Trier
I would like to register for the Kick-off conference “Mediation in Greece: EU and national legal framework and practice”
on 30 June 2012:
Title Ms Mr Other First name
Surname
Profession
Company
Tel.
Department/Position
Fax
E-mail
Street
Postcode/City
Country
Background documentation: I would like to receive the conference documentation folder (in hardcopy and electronic version).
Participation certificate: Please provide me with a participation certificate.
Please note that only registered participants will receive the background documentation and the participation certificate.
For participants coming from regions of Greece other than Athens or other EU member states:
Reimbursement of costs: I would like to apply for reimbursement of my travel and accommodation costs.
I declare that the information contained in this form is complete and correct.
Place, Date
Signature
Terms and conditions of participation
Registration Fee
1. There is no registration fee.
Participation Certificate
2. A certificate of attendance can be issued on request.
Conditions for applying for travel and accommodation reimbursement
3. Reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs will be offered to a maximum of 75 participants coming from other regions
of Greece or other countries.
4. Only the first 75 participants applying for reimbursement of their travel and accommodation costs will be eligible.
5. A response on whether travel and accommodation costs will be reimbursed will be provided to every participant applying for
this service shortly after the receipt of this application. We advise you not to book any travel or hotel before you receive our
confirmation.
6. Reimbursement is possible to a maximum of 350 Euros, subject to the submission of the original travel and accommodation
receipts (like flight ticket, hotel bill, boarding pass, train ticket, taxi bill, etc.)
Use of personal information
7. A list of all registered participants including addresses will be provided with the conference documentation, unless the Academy
receives the written objection to the inclusion of a participant’s data no later than one week prior to the beginning of the
event.
8. The participant’s address and other relevant information will be stored in the Academy’s database and used for the provision
of information about future ERA events, publications and/or other developments in the participant’s area of interest unless the
participant indicates that he or she does not wish the Academy to do so.

Contact
Conference venue
Nikos Skalkotas Hall
Megaron Athens International
Conference Centre
Vassilissis Sofias Avenue & Kokkali Street
11521 Athens
www.maicc.gr
Kassiani Christodoulou
Course Director Private Law
Tel: +49 (0)651 937 37 110
E-mail: kchristodoulou@era.int
Languages
Greek and English
(with simultaneous interpretation)
Registration
For further information and registration
please consult our website:
www.diamesolavisi.net
Anastasia Patta
Project Lawyer Private Law
Tel: +49 (0)651 937 37 130
E-mail: apatta@era.int
We are also present on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/pages/Diamesolavisi/
422883374418600
https://twitter.com/#!/ERATrier