Account Seizures Legal Without Informing the Debtor

The seven members of the Council of State of Greece announced yesterday their decision regarding seizure of salaries and pensions of debtors owing to the State. They announced that debtors will not be informed beforehand in regards to the seizure. While three months ago the Highest Court of Cassation had deemed that the Greek state and insurance funds cannot seize the debts from pensions and salaries without first informing the debtor, so that debtors can go to court or settle their debt, this new decision changes the policy regarding seizures from now on. The Highest Court of Cassation, in contrast to its previous decision, three months ago, has now found that the debtor does not need to be notified of the seizure. Justifying this decision, the court noted that “had the owner been notified of the measure, he would rush to withdraw from the third party (the bank) the funds” or “would transfer his assets to another party, making it therefore impossible to satisfy the public’s demands for satisfaction from these assets.” In fact, the contested decision states: “The debtor knows directly when his debt is past the payment deadline.” Furthermore, debtors should be aware that “the introduction of obligatory measures against him to collect the debt is possible from the very next day of the deadline passed.” Therefore, the constitutional rights of Greek citizens are not violated in any way.  

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