Sweeping justice reform on track
Legislation to tackle notorious delays approved by cabinet, to be voted on by end of March
The long overdue reforms to the country’s judicial system are expected to be voted on by the end of March as the government seeks to reverse decades of pathologies and problems that consigned Greece to 146th place in the relevant global index in terms of justice delays.
The reform package, which has been approved by the cabinet and is in the process of being finalized, includes three key pieces of legislation, effecting broad changes to the criminal codes, the redistribution and transfer of large categories of cases to specific courts, and, most importantly, the organization, for the first time, of a judicial map, detailing where and how courts will operate throughout the country.
The government’s reform project, one of the key priorities of its pre-election promises, apart from being necessary, is also a key prerequisite for the disbursement of significant monies from the Recovery Fund, especially with regard to the new court charter.
And, while change is a one-way path, there are growing concerns within the government about how they will be executed, as certain essential reforms require substantial funding, logistical infrastructure that does not yet exist, as well as time.
The concerns center on the fundamental position that it is not enough to pass a reform; it must also be implemented. To that end, there is an attempt to find solutions so that the justice reform program does not regress in practice, and remain on paper.
The judicial charter, the most difficult and complex of the reforms the government is attempting overall, will take effect from the new judicial year, that is, September. The organization of the judicial charter throughout the country will proceed on the principle of “one regional unit, one district court” and the abolition of all the magistrates’ courts now located in the cities, 64 in all.
Also, many small magistrates’ courts around the country, which are essentially underfunctioning, will be abolished from September. But nothing will change on the islands and in the border regions, where no court will be closed. Also, no court of appeal will be closed, and some of them will be subordinated to other regions.
Citizens will be informed in time, ahead of the new judicial year, where their cases will be tried in the future and what judicial jurisdiction they will be under.
