A total of 35 justices and judicial officers in Greece have been cashiered over the past three years for failing to delivery decisions and verdicts in a timely manner, a long-standing problem plaguing the country’s legal system and one of the standing impediments cited in most international “cost-of-doing business” rankings.
The campaign to reduce the massive backlog of court cases and legal decisions after hearings have concluded began under former Supreme Court president Maria Georgiou, who at the time referred to outstanding cases going back even five years.
Firings continued under Georgiou’s successor, Ioanna Klapa. In fact, according to information collected by “To Vima”, another 10 court officers are expected to be referred to the high court’s plenum of justices to face dismissal. Massive delays in issuing judgments is the primary reason, according to the same reports.
Written reprimands are a secondary disciplinary measure for justices and judicial officers failing to issue timely decisions.
Along those same lines, the justice ministry is reportedly ready to table draft legislation in Parliament envisioning an early retirement program for the country’s court system – an initiative that comes several years after the last such law.
The same report cites support by the relevant finance ministry, which must calculate the cost to state coffers, and will mainly affect justices and prosecutors facing health problem, including psychological disorders. According to “Vima”, the program is expected to lead to the early retirement of some 100 justices and court officers.
The shakeup has affected the Council of State (CoS), Greece’s highest administrative court, with four of the latter’s justices facing dismissal due to professional “deficiency”, with decisions for two of the four already issued, according to reports.
