The recent Law 5221/2025 (Government Gazette A’ 133/28-7-2025) introduces significant amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP). The legislator’s objective is to accelerate the administration of justice, mainly by shortening judicial deadlines and transferring part of the judicial workload to notaries and lawyers. Such cases include, among others, the new provisions regarding the publication of wills by notaries and the issuance of eviction orders by lawyers. Specifically:

I. WILLS

Under the new law, the abolition of holographic (handwritten) wills which was initially under discussion, was not adopted; however, important changes were introduced in the procedure for the publication of wills and the validation of holographic wills as genuine, in order to safeguard the authenticity of the testator’s intent and prevent disputes among heirs.

A. Effective date of provisions

The new provisions about wills come into effect on November 1st, 2025, with the critical date being the death of the testator. In the event of death after 1.11.2025, notaries will have jurisdiction, while in the event of death prior to 1.11.2025, jurisdiction will remain with the Courts of First Instance.

Furthermore, according to Art. 126 para. 3 of Law 5221/2025:
“As of 16.9.2026, the date of full operation of the database (with data and documents) within the Integrated Management System of Civil and Criminal Justice, all publications and issuances of certificates, regardless of the time of death, shall be carried out by notaries”. Therefore, provided that the said database has been put into operation, from 16.9.2026 onwards, for any matter concerning the publication of a will or the issuance of a certificate, regardless of the testator’s time of death, notaries shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

B. Publication of wills

The publication of a will is the process by which its content is officially disclosed in order to confirm its existence and authenticity and to enable the execution of its provisions. Up to now, publication took place before the Court of First Instance (formerly the District Court) of the last residence of the testator or the residence of the applicant.

According to Article 808 CCP, as amended and applicable from November 1, 2025, the procedure changes. Publication will no longer take place before the Court of First Instance, but before a notary. The entire will shall be recorded in a notarial deed prepared and signed by the notary, who will attest any external defects. This notarial deed will be registered in the new Registry of Wills, a special electronic platform for the publication of wills. The original will shall be kept in the notary’s archive.

C. Validation of wills

The validation of a holographic will is the judicial act by which the competent Single-Member Court of First Instance, upon application by any interested party, recognizes that the holographic will in question is genuine, valid, and binding as the testator’s last will. A holographic will that has been published and validated is presumed genuine if its authenticity has not been judicially contested within five years of publication.

According to new Article 808A CCP, the validation of a published will shall be performed by the notary who published it. In this case, the applicant must appear through a lawyer and be accompanied by two (2) witnesses, who will confirm the authenticity of the testator’s handwriting and signature.

However, if a holographic will appoints as sole heir a person who is neither the spouse of the testator nor related to the testator within the fourth degree of kinship, the applicant is now required to submit a handwriting expert report to the notary, in order to prove the authenticity of the testator’s handwriting and signature. In this case, the publication deed must be served by the notary to the Greek State within ten (10) days from the day following the validation of the will.

II. EVICTION ORDER

Another innovation of the new CCP is the possibility of issuing an eviction order in cases where the lease term has expired.

A. Current regime

Until now, the lessor could apply for the issuance of an eviction order from the competent Court of First Instance only when there was an active lease relationship and the lessee was in default in the payment of rent. However, in cases where the lease had expired or in any other instance, the lessor was obliged to seek recovery of the leased property through the longer and more costly procedure of a lawsuit for eviction.

B. Eviction order as of 1 January 2026

The legislator reforms the existing regime through Articles 72 and 73 of Law 5221/2025. As of 1 January 2026, it will be possible to issue an eviction order on the grounds of expiry of the lease term, provided that the lease agreement has been executed in writing. Both in the case of default in the payment of rent and in the case of expiry of the agreed term, the order shall be issued by a lawyer appointed by the Court from a special list.

More specifically, for the issuance of an eviction order on the grounds of expiry of the lease term, the following requirements must be met:

i. A fixed-term lease agreement must have been concluded in writing, in such a way that the starting or expiry dates are ascertainable.
ii. The lessor must serve an extrajudicial notice upon the lessee at least three (3) months prior to the expiry of the fixed term.

A separate provision applies to leases that have become indefinite-term upon the expiry of the agreed fixed term. In such cases, service of an extrajudicial notice at least three (3) months before the service of the eviction order is required.

The enforcement proceedings of the eviction order may commence after two (2) months from the service of the order to the lessee.
With the introduction of this new mechanism, the lessor acquires the ability to recover possession of the leased property more swiftly and cost-effectively compared to the lawsuit for eviction, which could take years before the actual departure of the tenant and the vacation of the premises. The order procedure is simplified, immediate, and less burdensome for both the parties and the courts.

It must, however, be noted that the new provision does not expressly regulate cases where the service of the extrajudicial notice takes place less than three (3) months before the expiry of the lease, or where, after the expiry, the lessor objects to the tenant’s continued occupation, with the result that the lease does not convert into an indefinite-term lease. In such cases, a legal gap arises, which must be addressed either by further legislative intervention or by case law interpretation.

ΙΙΙ. CONCLUSION

The amendments introduced by the new CCP appear to move in the right direction, paving the way towards a justice system that is faster, more accessible, and modern. From wills to leases, the role of notaries and lawyers is being strengthened, thereby reducing lengthy judicial proceedings. The challenge lies in ensuring smooth implementation and addressing the “grey areas,” so that citizens’ daily lives and the administration of justice may be substantially facilitated.