Court organization in Greece
The organization of courts in Greece is characterized by a breakdown into ordinary (criminal and civil) jurisdiction and administrative jurisdiction.
The constitutional basis for the organization of the courts is regulated in Articles 87 to 100a of the Greek Constitution .
Independence of the judiciary
According to the principle of the separation of powers, the judiciary is independent from the legislative and executive branches. The Greek constitution guarantees the material and personal independence of judges in Article 87th
Organization of the Greek judicial system
According to the constitution, there are civil courts, criminal courts and administrative courts. The highest court of civil and criminal justice is the Areopagus , while the highest court of administrative justice is the Council of State .
Civil justice
Civil litigation is judged:
- In the first instance, depending on the estimated value of the matter, by the magistrates' courts (ειρηνοδικεία) or the courts of first instance (πρωτοδικεία). The amount in dispute is EUR 20,000.00.
- In the second instance, depending on the estimated value of the matter in dispute, by the courts of first instance or the courts of appeal (εφετεία).
- By the Areopagus Supreme Court (Άρειος Πάγος) when an appeal against a final decision of the Court of Appeal is filed.
The Areopagus does not check the established facts, only legal and procedural errors. If the Areopagus concludes that the lower court has violated the law or the principles of the procedure, it can order the case to be renegotiated by the lower court. The decisions of the Areopagus are incontestable.
Criminal justice
Criminal offenses are assessed as follows:
- Serious offenses by the court of first instance (πλημμελειοδικείο) and in the appellate court by the court of appeal (εφετείο).
These courts usually decide as a "mixed" dish (Μικτό Ορκωτό Δικαστήριο). Four lay judges (lay judges ) and three professional judges take part in “mixed” courts . A constitutional provision allows certain criminal offenses to be exempted from the jurisdiction of the “mixed” courts. These crimes are judged in the first instance by the three-member appellate court and in the second case by the five-member appeals court without the participation of lay judges. For example, the members of the terrorist group Revolutionary Organization November 17th were convicted under this trial because the crimes of terrorism or organized crime do not come under the jurisdiction of the “mixed” courts.
The Areopagus examines the appeal on appeal against the final decisions of the ("mixed" or non-mixed) appellate courts. He can order the reversal of a judgment of the lower court if he comes to the conclusion that the law or the principles of the procedure have been violated by the lower court.
- Lighter offenses and petty offenses are judged in the first instance by a district court with a judge (πταισματοδικείο) and in the second instance by the court of appeal.
Administrative jurisdiction
Courts of administrative jurisdiction are the administrative courts (Διοικητικά δικαστήρια), the administrative appeals courts (Διοικητικά εφετεία) and the Council of State (ύυμβούλιο της Επικρατείας).
The judicial review of an administrative act either relates to the facts or not. Administrative acts can be challenged with the remedies of “recourse” or “suit” and are the competence of the administrative courts (first instance and appeal). The other administrative acts are contested using the “declaration of invalidity” appeal and come under the jurisdiction of the Council of State (Greece) or the Administrative Court of Appeal.
Administrative disputes are divided into substantive administrative disputes and actions for invalidity. This distinction has consequences for the competent court and the scope of judicial control. Which disputes are substantive is stipulated by law, the rest are claims for invalidity. In ineffectiveness proceedings, the court must review the legality of the administrative act that is the cause of the administrative dispute; in the event of illegality, the administrative act can only be revoked. In the event of material disputes, the administrative court can also carry out an appropriateness check and amend the administrative act.
The decisions of all administrative courts can be challenged with a "certificate of attestation", which is assessed by the State Council.
The Court of Auditors is also a supreme administrative court whose jurisdiction is limited to certain matters. Its decisions are final and not subject to review by the State Council.
Special dishes
- Army Court (στρατοδικείο), Navy Court (ναυτοδικείο) and Air Force Court (αεροδικείο)
- Special Court for perversion of justice charges and disputes over the payment of salaries and pensions of judicial officers
The constitutional control of the law
Incident Control Principle
According to the Greek judicial system, each court has jurisdiction to judge the conformity or lack of a legal provision with the constitution. This judicial right therefore constitutes the so-called incident control of constitutionality, which is contrary to the system of “concentrated” authority to reject . The latter exists in most European countries that have a Supreme Constitutional Court, such as Germany, Spain or France. Since there is no such court in Greece, all courts are responsible for deciding on the constitutionality of a legal regulation.
The Supreme Special Court
The Supreme Special Court is not a "regular" and "permanent" court, it only meets when a case arises within its jurisdiction. His job is
- resolving disputes between the Supreme Courts or between the Courts and the Administration
- Make a binding decision when conflicting Supreme Court decisions are made about the true meaning or constitutionality of any legal provision.
- the decision on challenges to the result of the parliamentary elections.
As a result, it is the only court that can declare an unconstitutional legal provision “ineffective” and delete it from the Greek legal system, while the other courts can only declare it “inapplicable” on a case-by-case basis. The decisions of the Supreme Special Court are binding on all courts, including the Supreme Court.
At the beginning of 2006, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis submitted plans for a constitutional amendment that provided for the establishment of a Supreme Constitutional Court to replace the Higher Special Court. This led to an intense debate about the need for a constitutional court.
European law and constitution
The Court of Justice of the European Communities is of the opinion that the law of the European Union takes precedence over national laws, including national constitutions. However, this is true where the European Council has expressly enacted laws in certain areas where the Treaty provisions provide for secondary legislation to promote the former. The Greek courts and especially the Council of State have avoided taking a position on the primacy of EU law over the constitution.
In 2001, a new provision was added to the Constitution prohibiting owners of private mass media from participating in public procurement. In 2005 the Greek Parliament passed a law that made the constitutional provision a reality. The European Commission reacted immediately and warned that this legal provision violated EU competition law. The Greek government replied that the law complied with a constitutional provision that was superior to EU law. A firm advocate of this opinion was the professor of law and then Minister of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization Prokopis Pavlopoulos . However, the law was withdrawn and amended when the European Commission threatened to cut Community funds earmarked for Greece.
Constitutional control and the State Council
After the constitutional amendment of 2001, the Supreme Courts can only rule on the constitutionality of a piece of legislation in plenary. This change deprived the chambers of the State Council of the power to judge the constitutionality of a piece of legislation. Now the chambers are obliged to submit the case to the plenary session of the “Council”.
Nevertheless, a chamber of the Council of State decided in decision 372/2005 on a case involving a constitutional problem. Instead of referring the case to the plenary, the emphasis was not on the Constitution, but on the European Convention on Human Rights . With this “trick” the Chamber of the Council strengthened its competence without violating the constitution and avoided time-consuming litigation. According to the constitution, the legal force of international conventions is superior to national laws, but inferior to the constitution.
Duration of legal proceedings
The excessive length of court proceedings in Greece has been the subject of numerous proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). After several convictions of Greece for structural deficits recognized by the European Court of Human Rights, legal regulations were created to accelerate and compensate for excessively long proceedings. The inefficiency of the Greek judiciary and the length of its proceedings has been the subject of public criticism at home and abroad.
Individual evidence
- ^ Constitution of Greece (German translation)
- ↑ Decision of the ECHR with list of procedures (English)
- ↑ Die Welt from September 15, 2015: "Why Greek judges are so incredibly slow" [1]