According to the Greek Civil Code, by
executing the contract of sale the seller undertakes the obligation to transfer
the ownership of the object or right that constitute the subject matter of the
sale, and the purchaser undertakes the obligation to pay the agreed price. The
seller is under an obligation to transfer the subject matter of the sale free
from any rights belonging to any third party (legal defect). The seller is not
responsible for legal defects existing at the time of the sale, if the purchaser
had knowledge thereof. However, the seller shall be responsible for existing
mortgages or prenotices of mortgage or attachments or pledges, even if the
purchaser had knowledge of their existence.
The seller is also under an obligation to deliver the object that is being sold
to the purchaser free from any actual defects, which nullify or substantially
diminish the value or usefulness of the thing. The object of the sale has
actual defects which nullify or substantially diminish its value or its usefulness
when: a) the object does not correspond to the representations made by the
seller regarding its description; or b) the object is not suitable for the
purpose for which it is being purchased; or c) the object cannot serve its
intended purpose, as that relates to objects belonging to the same class; or d)
the object does not meet the quality or performance that the purchaser demands
from objects of the same class.
The seller shall not be liable in respect to actual defects which were known to
the purchaser at the time of the closing of the sale. In the cases where the
seller is liable for an actual defect or the lack of an agreed quality, the
purchaser shall have the right to rescind from the sale contract or demand a
reduction of the sale price or the repair or replacement of the sale object
with another, suitable for the use and purpose intended. The purchaser can
always demand compensation for the seller’s failure to perform under the
contract.
If the purchaser has accepted the object without reservations and with
knowledge of the defect or the lack of the agreed quality, he shall be deemed
to have accepted the thing as is.
Upon the revocation of the sale, the
purchaser is under an obligation to return the object, free from any burden
that he may have caused as well as the proceeds he acquired therefrom. The
seller must return the price with interest, the sale expenses, as well as the
disbursements incurred by the purchaser in respect to the object. The purchaser
has the right to request alternatively the revocation of the sale or a
reduction of the sale price or the replacement of the sale object, even if the
object has been destroyed or has deteriorated due to the defect.
When more than one item constitute the sale object, if only some of them are
defective or lack an agreed quality, the above rights apply only in regards to
the limited number of defective items. However, if the intention of the parties
has been that the items are being sold in bulk or as a whole, and the defective
or deficient items cannot be separated from the non-defective without one of
the parties being prejudiced, the revocation will apply to the totality of the
items.
January 2020
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