Paperless, mutual divorce through gov.gr

The decision regarding the online service for issuing a non-contentious divorce through the Unified Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr – EPSP).

The process is carried out through an app; the parties involved avoid going to court and, through an attorney, can dissolve their marriage online.

In summary, the articles included in the decision and the procedure followed are as follows:

Article 1. Procedure for the Online Issuance of a Divorce by Mutual Consent through the Unified Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr-EΨΠ) 2. Logging in to the application and initiating the process

3. Create a new case

4. Retrieving Data from the Citizens' Registry

5. Submission of the final draft agreement

6. Confirmation of details and awaiting confirmation from the opposing counsel

7. Awaiting confirmation from spouses

8. Expiration of the deadline

9. Notary Public's Entry

10. Signing of the final deed

1. Completion of the process

2. Spiritual Resolution of Marriage

13. Protection of Personal Data: Technical and Organizational Security Measures; Article 14. Entry into Force

The decision in detail:

No. 70057. Electronic service for issuing a non-contested divorce via the Unified Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr-EPSP). (Government Gazette Series B No. 6390/December 31, 2021) THE MINISTERS OF JUSTICE AND STATE AFFAIRS Having regard to: 1. The provisions of: a. Presidential Decree 456/1984 ’Civil Code and Introductory Law« (A» 164) and, in particular, Article 1441 thereof, b. Law 4800/2021 ’Reforms Concerning Parent-Child Relationships, Other Family Law Matters, and Other Urgent Provisions« (A» 81) and, in particular, Article 20 thereof, c. Law 4727/2020  ’Digital Governance (Transposition into Greek Law of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 and Directive (EU) 2019/1024) Electronic Communications (Transposition into Greek Law of Directive (EU) 2018/1972) and Other Provisions« (A» 184), d. Articles 47 and 84 of Law 4623/2019  ’Regulations of the Ministry of the Interior, provisions on digital governance, pension regulations, and other urgent matters« (A» 134), e. Articles 16 and 17 of Law 4704/2020  ’Acceleration and Simplification of Support for Audiovisual Projects, Strengthening of Digital Governance, and Other Provisions« (A» 133), f. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016, on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the freesuch data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (L 119/1), g. Law No. 4624/2019 ’Personal Data Protection Authority, measures for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016, on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data, and its incorporation into national legislation of Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016, and other provisions« (A» 137), h. of Article 1 of Presidential Decree 81/2019  ’Establishment, Merger, Renaming, and Abolition of Ministries and Definition of Their Competences; Transfer of Services and Competences between Ministries« (A» 119), i. Presidential Decree 83/2019 ’Appointment of the Vice President of the Government, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Under Secretaries (A« 121), j. Presidential Decree 6/2021 ’Organization of the Ministry of Justice« (A» 7), j. Presidential Decree 40/2020 ’Organization of the Ministry of Digital Governance« (A» 85), l. Article 90 of the Code of Legislation on the Government and Government Bodies (Article 1 of Presidential Decree 63/2005, A’ 98), as maintained in force by paragraph 22 of Article 119 of Law 4622/2019 (A’ 133). 2. The decision of the Prime Minister, referenced as Y6/July 9, 2019, titled ’Assignment of Responsibilities to the Minister of State« (B» 2902). 3. The decision of the Minister of State, ref. no. 118944 EX, dated October 23, 2019, ’Operation of the Interoperability Center of the General Secretariat for Public Administration Information Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance« (B» 3990). 4. The decision of the Minister of State, ref. no. 3981 EX, dated February 25, 2020 ’Provision of oAuth 2.0 User Authentication Services to Third-Party Information Systems« (B» 762). 5. The decision of the Minister of State, ref. no. 5620 EX dated February 26, 2021, ’Regulation of Specific Matters Concerning the Submission of Applications and the Issuance of Documents Through the Unified Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr-EPSP) as well as the use of the agency and user mailboxes maintained therein« (B» 849). 6. The need to simplify and expedite the process for granting a divorce by mutual consent, through electronic issuance, with the aim of reducing bureaucracy and improving the daily lives of citizens, attorneys, and notaries. 7. Given that the provisions herein do not entail any expenditure from the state budget, we hereby decide: Article 1 Procedure for the Electronic Issuance of a Divorce by Mutual Consent through the Unified Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr-EΨΠ) 1. The procedure for issuing a non-paper divorce by mutual consent is conducted electronically through the Unified Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr-EΨΠ), hereinafter referred to as EΨΠ. 2. To submit an application and initiate the procedure described herein, the prior authentication of the involved natural person users is required, in accordance with the provisions of Article 24 of Law 4727/2020. Article 2 Accessing the Application and Initiating the Process 1. The users involved may access the online application for uncontested divorce through the Unified Digital Portal of Public Administration, by selecting one of the three (3) login methods displayed on the screen, depending on whether they are a lawyer, a notary public, or a party to the proceedings. 2. Specifically, the process is initiated by one of the two attorneys, who logs into the application using their ’PORTAL OLOMELEIA« credentials and, after successfully logging in, either reviews cases that have already been closed or creates a new case by selecting from the corresponding fields. Article 3 Creating a New Case 1. The details of the attorney who logs into the application by selecting »Create New Case,« thereby initiating the process, are automatically retrieved from the »Portal Olomeleia.« These details are as follows: Tax Identification Number (AFM), Bar Association Registration Number, First Name, Last Name, and Email Address. 2. The attorney enters the marriage certificate number, the volume, the year, the code of the Registry Office that issued it, and the last name of one of the spouses. Alternatively, the lawyer may enter either the Tax Identification Numbers (AFM) or the Social Security Numbers (AMKA) of both (2) spouses and the last name of one of the spouses. Article 4 Retrieving Data from the Citizens» Registry 1. Once the process has been initiated, the application automatically retrieves, through the Interoperability Center of the General Secretariat for Public Administration Information Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance, in accordance with Article 84 of Law 4727/2020 and Article 47 of Law 4623/2019  (A’ 134), the following information from the Citizens« Registry: a. the first and last names of each spouse, along with their Tax Identification Number (AFM) and Social Security Number (AMKA), b. the type of marriage, as indicated by the automatic retrieval of the active marriage certificate, and c. the number of children the spouses may have, as well as their details, through the automatic retrieval of a family status certificate. 2. If the above information has not been entered or has been entered incorrectly, the procedure will not proceed. Article 5 Submission of the Final Draft Agreement 1. The attorney who initiates the electronic procedure described in Article 1 of this document must enter the final draft of the private agreement into the application in the relevant field. 2. Furthermore, they must enter the notary’s details by selecting the notary from the list of notaries, as well as the Tax Identification Number (AFM) and email address of the opposing attorney. 3. After submitting all the necessary information, the attorney initiating the proceedings either temporarily saves the case or proceeds to submit the petition definitively. 4. Once the procedure described above is complete, both attorneys, both spouses, and the notary public receive an electronic notification regarding the initiation of the proceedings. Specifically, the opposing attorney is notified electronically so that they can log into the application and confirm all the information that has been entered. 5. At this point, the proceedings may be canceled at the initiative of any party, provided that the reason for cancellation is entered; in such cases, an electronic notification is sent to all parties for their information. Article 6 Confirmation of Information and Awaiting Confirmation from the Opposing Counsel At this stage, upon entry of the Tax Identification Number (TIN), in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of the preceding article, the opposing counsel’s details—namely, Bar Association Registration Number, Bar Association Membership Number, First Name, Last Name, and Email Address. Furthermore, the opposing counsel, using their »Portal Olomeleia« credentials, verifies the case details, enters the additional information required for drafting the notarial deed, approves the final draft of the preceding article as submitted by the attorney, and either rejects or confirms its content. If the notary accepts the information submitted in the preceding paragraph, he or she records it so that the notarial deed may be drawn up. At this point, the procedure may be canceled at the initiative of either of the two attorneys, who must also state the reason for the cancellation, at which point an email is sent to all parties to notify them. Article 7 Awaiting Spouses» Confirmation 1. In the next step, the spouses log into the application using their Taxisnet credentials and review the draft private agreement approved by both lawyers. They then approve or reject the draft. If they approve the contents of the agreement by confirming their consent, the spouses enter the information required to draft the document. Once both spouses have approved the agreement, it is sent to all parties (attorneys, spouses, notary) an electronic notification of the spouses’ consent, at which point the ten-day period provided for in Article 1441 of the Civil Code begins. 2. At this point, the procedure may be canceled at the initiative of any party, provided that the reason for cancellation is stated; an electronic notification is then sent to all parties. Article 8 Expiration of the Deadline 1. After ten (10) days have elapsed—a period that begins on the day the spouses approved the draft prepared and filed by the attorneys— the process is finalized, and the parties may not withdraw via the application, though they retain the right to withdraw upon consultation with the notary. Thereafter, all parties are notified electronically that the deadline has passed. 2. In the event that the parties, after the deadline specified in the preceding paragraph has passed, fail to make any status changes to the existing case within three (3) months of the initiation of the procedure under Article 2, the case created is automatically canceled through the application, and the parties must restart the process from the beginning. Article 9 Involvement of a Notary Public 1. After the deadline specified in the preceding article has elapsed, the notary is notified via email that they must log in to the application using their Taxisnet credentials. 2. After logging into the application, the notary public may edit the final notarial document of divorce. 3. The notary may then download the notarial deed in digital format. Article 10 Signing of the Final Deed 1. The final notarial deed may be approved by the spouses, their authorized attorneys, pursuant to Article 24 of Law 4727/2020, through the application, or they may sign outside the application in person by hand, or with an electronic signature equivalent to a handwritten signature (qualified electronic signature). 2. The notary public, as a public official, shall keep the signed physical or qualified digital document in his or her records. 3. Until the notarial deed is approved by both parties, the notary may cancel the procedure. Once the cancellation is complete, an electronic notification is sent to all parties involved. Article 11 Completion of the Process 1. Once the notarial deed is approved, the notary logs into the application to finalize the divorce by selecting and confirming their choice, entering the notarial deed number and its date of execution. 2. At this stage, the process cannot be canceled. 3. Upon finalization, the notary reserves the right to amend the text of the notarial deed in the application, based on any changes that may have arisen during the signing. 4. At this stage, the application will send the final notarial deed to the inboxes of the two citizens on the Unified Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr). 5. The spouses, their attorneys, and the notary public receive an electronic notification regarding the completion of the notarial process. 6. In the case of a religious marriage, the spouses are notified electronically so that they may proceed with the annulment of the marriage. 7. The application updates the civil registry via interoperability, which returns a code/unique identifier, based on which the spouses or their attorneys can contact the relevant registrar regarding the progress of the case, if necessary. Both spouses, both attorneys, and the notary are notified electronically upon completion of the notarial procedure. In the event of any technical error when communicating with the civil registry, the notary will be notified electronically of the error and will have the option to retry to complete the process. Article 12: Dissolution of Marriage by Mutual Consent If the marriage was a religious marriage, the notary public must enter into the application the details from the decree of divorce, specifically the date of issuance, the competent Diocese, and the relevant protocol number. Article 13 Protection of Personal Data: Technical and Organizational Security Measures 1. For the purposes of implementing this law, the Ministry of Justice acts in its capacity as the Data Controller in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016 (L 119), GDPR) and Law 4624/2019  (A’ 137). The Data Controller is required to comply with all obligations arising from the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016, as well as the provisions of Law 4624/2019 (A’ 137). The attorneys and notaries involved act as independent Data Controllers. 2. The personal data that is exchanged is limited to what is strictly necessary in order to implement the provisions of this policy and the relevant legislation on the basis of which it is issued, and pertain to individuals falling within the scope of this policy. 3. The data for all cases that have been dismissed at any stage of the proceedings are automatically deleted. 4. For the purposes of this decision, the notarial deed dissolving the marriage shall be retained in the notary’s safe deposit box as a public document, which shall also be kept in the notary’s records in his or her capacity as a public official. Article 14 Entry into Force This decision shall enter into force upon its publication in the Government Gazette. This decision shall be published in the Government Gazette. Athens, December 23, 2021 The Ministers of Justice KONSTANTINOS TSARAS Minister of State KYRIAKOS PIERRAKAKIS