New European criticism of deteriorating rule of law in Greece
In its fifth annual report "Freedoms, Rule of Law 2024", the civil society network Civil Liberties Union for Europe analysed the current state of the rule of law in the European Union (EU).
In the report, which devotes 46 pages to Greece, it is pointed out that there has been no improvement in the justice system in the country since last year, the procedures for the appointment of high judges and prosecutors continue to cause concern, the public has little confidence in the judiciary and thinks that the judiciary is politicised and influenced by commercial interests.
The ability of the legislature to actually scrutinise the actions of the executive is further weakened, the report notes, noting that high judges and prosecutors, such as the President and Vice-Presidents of the Court of Cassation, Council of State or Court of Accounts, are selected on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, based on the proposal of the Minister of Justice and the opinion of the relevant parliamentary body.
The report notes that the judiciary is not involved in the appointment process and that the Constitution does not allow rejected candidates to appeal the decision before an independent court.
Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), said: "The report in question is another very important warning to our country and the government from Europe following the European Parliament resolution stating that the rule of law in our country Greece is gradually deteriorating and systematically violated. This independent report, which is in the nature of a 'shadow report' for the EU Commission's 2024 Rule of Law Report, to which ABTTF also contributed in writing, clearly reveals that the judiciary in our country is not independent and is under the direct guidance of politics. It is precisely for this reason that the Supreme Court of Cassation (Arios Pagos) ignored the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights against our country regarding three associations of our society. The politicised higher judiciary in our country persistently rejects the requests for the restoration of the official legal personality of our oldest association, the Xanthi Turkish Union, and the official registration of the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Prefecture of Rodopi and the Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association, and constantly gives negative decisions on the appeals of our associations despite all the warnings of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, of which our country is a member. While the whole of Europe sees the deplorable state of the rule of law in our country, the fact that our country is still trying to hide and deny it is damaging its reputation in the international arena more and more. Our country must stop taking refuge behind excuses and must fully respect the rule of law and fundamental rights as a democratic state of law."
