What do we mean by infringement of the personality rights of a legal entity?
Under Articles 57 and 59 of the Greek Civil Code, the right to personality is protected as a set of rights and values that form the essence of a person and are inseparably connected to them. Such protected interests include, among others, a person’s honour and reputation, as reflected in the perception and esteem held by others.
From these provisions (Articles 57 and 59 GCC), in conjunction with Articles 914, 919, and 932 GCC, it follows that, in the event of an infringement of personality rights, a claim for compensation for moral damage presupposes an unlawful and culpable violation of the aforementioned rights.
The above provisions also apply to legal entities, provided that they possess legal and transactional capacity (Articles 61 and 70 GCC). Legal entities therefore enjoy personality rights in the form of commercial credibility, reputation, goodwill, professional standing, business prospects, reliability, solvency, and other recognised intangible assets.
Consequently, where the personality rights of a legal entity are infringed in any of the above forms, the legal entity is entitled, pursuant to Articles 57 and 59 GCC, to seek legal protection as well as compensation for the moral damage suffered as a result of the infringement, which may include the payment of monetary compensation.
Why should a legal entity seek protection before the Civil Courts for the above reasons?
Under the previous version of the Greek Penal Code, legal entities — and specifically sociétés anonymes (public limited companies) — had the ability to seek protection before the Criminal Courts in cases of criminal defamation (former Article 364 of the Penal Code), where the dissemination of knowingly false statements to third parties harmed the commercial reputation and credibility of the legal entity.
However, since the entry into force of the new Penal Code on 1 July 2019, legal entities of any legal or corporate form may now seek protection against the commission of such offences exclusively through civil remedies before the Civil Courts.
How is compensation or monetary satisfaction awarded in cases of infringement of a legal entity’s personality rights?
In order to restore the moral damage suffered, affected legal entities must, pursuant to Article 216 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure, specifically state that the tortious act harmed their commercial credibility or reputation, professional standing, and generally their commercial future, and that these infringements caused them specific material damage.
Such damage must be alleged and proven by any lawful evidentiary means, because moral damage in the case of legal entities does not concern an internal emotional state — as it does for natural persons — but rather a specific harm of a material nature.¹
Therefore, for a legal remedy to be accepted and compensation awarded to the aggrieved legal entity due to infringement of its personality rights, it must be clearly demonstrated through the evidence submitted before the competent Court that, from the moment the unlawful act occurred, specific damage was caused.
Examples include:
- the unfair use of a company’s trademark by a competing business,
- the publication of false and defamatory statements on electronic mass communication platforms (e.g., blogs, Facebook, Instagram, websites) by a third party or company against another legal entity,
- the commission of defamatory or slanderous acts, etc.
Indicatively, such damage may consist of:
- a reduction in the company’s clientele,
- a decrease in revenue,
- negative reviews from consumers due to confusion or association with another legal entity unlawfully exploiting its trademark, products, or services,
- doubts regarding its solvency or creditworthiness raised by partners or financial institutions due to false and defamatory publications circulated against it.
In all cases, such damage must be supported and proven through documents and other evidence (financial statements, sworn testimonies, etc.).
Naturally, the above evidentiary process is demanding, and for this reason, in many decisions issued by the national courts, claims by legal entities seeking monetary compensation for infringement of personality rights are rejected as vague or unsubstantiated, because it is not “concretely” proven that the unlawful act harmed their commercial credibility, professional reputation, or commercial future, as described above.
¹ Supreme Court Judgment 730/2015 (Civil Chamber B2), Piraeus Court of Appeal 327/2022, Athens Court of Appeal 152/2022.
For further information, you may contact our Firm by telephone at +30 210 3644677-8 or via e-mail at info@makrispartners.com
