Answer ... In both international arbitration (Article 34 of Law 2735/1999) and domestic arbitration (Article 895 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure), an arbitral award cannot be appealed, although it can be challenged for reasons of law by means of a court application filed within three months of service of the award. The grounds for setting aside an award are exhaustively enumerated in the relevant law provisions as follows:

• The arbitration agreement or clause was not valid under the law applicable in the arbitration proceedings;
• The party against which enforcement of the award is sought was not duly notified of the appointment of the arbitrators or the arbitration, and it was thus impossible for it to legally participate in the proceedings;
• The dispute was not arbitrable according to law or the arbitration agreement;
• The proceedings or the constitution of the tribunal violated the arbitration agreement or the applicable law; or
• The arbitral award is not yet enforceable or has been set aside or suspended by an authority with jurisdiction in the country under the law of which the award was issued.

The parties may agree to have recourse against the award before another arbitral tribunal.

Answer ... In international commercial arbitration, the application to set aside an award must be made within three months of the date of receipt of the award by the challenging party. Furthermore, unless the parties have agreed otherwise, either party may request the tribunal to correct formal errors in the award or interpret the award within 30 days of its delivery; the tribunal must make the necessary corrections or interpretation within 30 days of receipt of this request, unless it deems it necessary to extend this timeframe (Article 33 of Law 2537/1999). In any case, the tribunal may correct ex officio any formal error in the award within 30 days of its issuance.

In domestic arbitration, the application to set aside an award must likewise be made within three months of service of the award (Article 899 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure), and Article 894 provides similar options regarding the request for correction or interpretation of the award. Nevertheless, in domestic arbitration this request may be submitted only by a party which is a signatory to the arbitration agreement, and no timeframe is specified with respect to either the submission of the request or the examination of such request by the tribunal.

Answer ... According to Greek law, the parties cannot exclude the rights of challenge as granted by law (see question 10.1).