Hellenic Republic Gains Another Victory in German Bondholder Litigation Challenging 2012 Debt Restructuring

Following The Hellenic Republic’s 2012 sovereign debt restructuring, in which Cleary Gottlieb acted as international counsel to The Hellenic Republic, several former holders of Greek law-governed bonds sued The Hellenic Republic before various German courts, challenging the law that provided the framework for the debt restructuring through collective action.

Cleary has been representing the Hellenic Republic on trial and appeal and secured victories in all cases.

The Federal Court of Justice issued its first ruling on these actions on March 8, 2016, and held that the Hellenic Republic enjoys immunity in respect of alleged tort claims.

In response to this ruling, several plaintiffs asserted alleged claims on a contractual basis – to no avail: On December 19, 2017, the Federal Court of Justice ruled again in favor of the Hellenic Republic and dismissed three further appeals.