Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations v Hellenic Shipyards ECLI:FR:CCASS:2026:C100393
French Cour de Cassation Blocks Greek State Creditors From Attaching European Stability Vehicle Assets
The French Court of Cassation held that Hellenic Shipyards could not enforce its arbitral award against the Greek State by attaching assets that Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations (HCAP) allegedly held in France. Hellenic Shipyards used a saisie-attribution, a French third-party debt attachment, and argued that HCAP was a State emanation: a formally separate entity whose independence and asset pool are so tied to the State that State creditors may reach its assets. The court accepted that French law can allow this in ordinary cases, but refused it here because Greece created HCAP under the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) support programme to hold and monetise Greek assets under European-institution supervision. Article 2284 of the French Civil Code, read with Article 136(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 12(1) of the Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism, required French courts to preserve that European stability structure, so Greek State creditors could not seize HCAP assets in France.