The Greek Debt Restructuring Program and Buy-back Schemes
of 2012 under Judicial Review by the Supreme Administrative Court (Judgments 1116/2014 and 1117/2014)
and the General Court of the European Union
(Case T-79/13, Alessandro Accorinti and Others v. ECB)
Georgia Skiada
Assistant Judge, Greek Supreme Administrative Court (Council of State)
The Greek debt restructuring program with Private Sector Involvement stands out in the history of sovereign debt restructuring projects, since it enabled a large debt reduction for Greece and avoided defaulting on its existing debt. However, the private holders of Greek Government Bonds were significantly affected by the implementation of the program and challenged the bonds swap before the Greek Supreme Administrative Court as well as the General Court of the European Union. Both Courts rejected the claims and ratified the acts of the Greek Government, the Bank of Greece and the European Central Bank by employing a fairly similar legal reasoning.
