Areios Pagos on the presumption of innocence: civil courts are not bound by final criminal court decisions acquitting the accused

The Greek Supreme Civil and Criminal Court (Areios Pagos) has recently issued a judgement in relation to the presumption of innocence and parallel proceedings (civil and criminal). The Court found that civil courts are not bound in any way by previous final criminal court decisions, both convicting and acquitting the defendant, but should merely examine them as evidence in the context of the civil trial. The Court’s judgement goes contrary to similar decisions previously reached by other Greek courts, including the Supreme Administrative Court (Council of the State – Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) on the relation of the criminal and administrative trials. The article is available only in Greek.

Read more on this case here.