The sad ranking of our justice system
The miserable state of the Greek justice system has been highlighted from many different quarters, not least by thousands of citizens who have had first-hand experience of its workings. However, the findings of a recent study conducted on behalf of the Greek government by the World Bank and which fully reflects the realities of the system, do not lend themselves for any complacency.
After almost 50 years in the European Union, Greece is in a dismal 146th place worldwide in the index that determines the performance of judicial systems. How long does it take for the courts to issue a decision? According to the World Bank study, 1,711 days are required in our country, on average, from the time a lawsuit is filed to the execution of the ruling – and that, really, says it all. The report also says it takes 1,400 days to issue a final ruling at the appeal level, for which there is no excuse.
The causes of this abysmal ranking – which denotes problems that inhibit economic growth, investment, the consolidation of equality among citizens and the functioning of the rule of law – are too many to list.
Undoubtedly, a large share of the blame lies with successive governments, which through omissions and numerous destructive actions contributed to the current situation. On the other hand, you cannot ignore the responsibilities of other factors, such as the proliferation of laws that only create more work for the courts, but also the internal problems of the judiciary, which despite the honorable efforts of many, continue to exist and exacerbate the problems.
Before and after the general elections, the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis pledged sweeping changes in the judicial system that were heralded as a move to stem its collapse. Any reforms – which, fortunately, are a prerequisite for Greece to receive aid from the EU’s Recovery Fund – should have been implemented yesterday.
However, these difficult reforms require a lot of work, study, seriousness, cooperation with experts, and not just institutional “stunts,” which will dissipate and make things worse.
If this opportunity is lost, it will not only mean that we will lose the money from the Recovery Fund – something that is not to be taken lightly – but also that our judicial system, a pillar of social cohesion and economic development, will soon collapse. Then the current dismal ranking of 146th internationally will drop even further, reaching the bottom of the world rankings. It is not, unfortunately, too far off.
