Areopagus, Greece’s Supreme Court, recently fired four judges, accusing them of being slow in issuing judicial decisions for cases.
In a rare and yet decisive move to combat the chronic problem of judicial delays, the Disciplinary Plenary Session of the Greek Supreme Court dismissed these four judges due to their “excessive delays in issuing court decisions.” The dismissals were approved by Supreme Court President Ioanna Klapa along with the participation of Supreme Court Prosecutor Georgia Adeilini.
Greece fires judges, insufficient justifications
The harsh decision aims to address the persistent problem of very lengthy wait times in the Greek judicial system, something that many administrations have pledged to solve in the past, without, however, any major improvements having being achieved so far.
Among those who were dismissed were a Thessaloniki Court of Appeals judge and two Presidents of the Athens Court of First Instance, along with another judge. According to Supreme Court Judge Evangelia Giakoumatos, one of the dismissed Presidents of the Court of First Instance possessed an impressive repertoire of professional and academic qualifications.
However, the judge had consistently exhibited significant and unjustified delays in issuing decisions with the problem worsening over time. The reason for the delays, according to the particular judge, was health issues. However, this was deemed insufficient justification.
Greece faces massive problem of judicial delays
Since September 2021, a total of 32 judges and prosecutors have been dismissed in Greece in a clear effort to address the issue of lengthy delays in the Greek judicial system. The Greek judicial system is infamous for its significant delays along with its internal inefficiencies.
Court proceedings in Greece are among the slowest in the entire European Union. This means that the average time for someone in the country to resolve civil and commercial cases at first instance courts is 728 days. This official data was released by the European Commission in 2021 and placed Greece at the top of the delays list in the EU. Even more concerning, administrative cases in the Council of State of the country had a disposition time of 1,324 days in 2021, according to the EU Commission.
The reasons behind this concerning trend are multiple. However, the key problems include a lack of adoption of IT systems that would speed proceedings up along with insufficient support staff for judges. Greece lacks specialized courts, which would put more pressure on the system.
This all, topped with Greece’s infamous bureaucracy and dysfunctional administration, create a cocktail of delays that have plagued the system for decades. Greek judges face a huge backlog of cases, especially considering that Greeks do not hesitate to take things to court at every opportunity.
All these factors have led to a situation whereby if a motion is filed today, proceedings may be scheduled as far out as 2026 and beyond. This has resulted in the European Commission and other organizations repeatedly expressing concerns over significant delays and backlogs of the Greek judicial system.