Top court president urges courts to follow through with beach violations

The president of the Supreme Court, Ioanna Klapa, weighed in on Saturday on the issue of widespread zoning and environmental violations on the country’s beaches and coasts, calling on judicial authorities to see that justice is administered on an issue that has been at the forefront of the news this summer.

More specifically, Klapa issued an urgent communication addressed to the heads of all the country’s courts of first instance, in which she urged them to pay particular attention to any cases of this nature that come before them. Their, duty, she said, is to “uphold the principle of the rule of law, and defend the public interest and the welfare of society as a whole.”

“According to the Constitution, the beaches and the seashore are public (not subject to transaction) and communal property. Their main purpose, as common property, is the free and unimpeded access of the public to them, as well as communication between the land and the sea, lake or river,” the Supreme Court statement read.