In March 2023, the Greek national section was created under the name GEMME Hellas. Until now, Greece has been an observer country, and it is with great pleasure that the European association has integrated it as a full member. It is the latest country to join GEMME and currently has 18 members: judges and mediators (Pictured here are the founding members of GEMME Hellas on the day it was set up).
The Greek section of GEMME Europe was established as an association governed by the Civil Code, under the name "Hellenic Association of Judges for Mediation - Branch of the European Association of Judges for Mediation in Greece" and the distinctive title "GEMME Hellas".
The objectives of GEMME Hellas. According to the Greek legal system, before certain cases are heard in court, a compulsory initial session in the presence of a mediator must be organised in order to inform the parties of the possibility of an out-of-court settlement of their dispute through the mediation procedure governed by law L. 4640/2019.
To date, the number of such settlements has been rather low.
The aim of the Greek section is therefore to persuade, through appropriate campaigns, a greater number of litigants to seek a settlement of their dispute through mediation and, at the same time, to increase the number of mediators.
To this end, some members of our association are also members of the Central Committee for the Accreditation of Mediators, which is based at the Ministry of Justice.
Next board meeting in Athens. Meeting the members of GEMME Hellas in person and welcoming them warmly to GEMME was one of the main reasons for the decision to hold the next Board meeting in Athens.
This meeting will be particularly important, as it will include workshops to improve GEMME's lines of action, the revision of the statutes and the association's rules of procedure (at European level), as well as a public institutional event to be held at the headquarters of the Greek Ministry of Justice to present GEMME's 20th anniversary report and organise a debate entitled "The influence of Greek philosophy on mediation".
→ If you would like to receive an invitation to attend the GEMME institutional event to be held on Friday 10 November from 9:00 to 12:00 at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice, please send a request by email indicating your full name, email address, and the institution you represent or the area of your professional practice related to mediation to contact@gemmeeurope.org.
