The lawyer for a man wanted in Australia for a 1999 nightclub killing says a Greek appeals court has denied an Australian request to extradite his client because the statute of limitations on the crime had ran out.

Greece has ruled out sending James Dalamangas back to Sydney to face a court, decades after a fatal nightclub stabbing.

A Greek appeals court this week ruled that a 56-year-old man wanted by Australia on a homicide charge will not be extradited, his lawyer said.