Introduction

• Author: Panagiota Petroglou
• Pages: 5-8

5

1Introduction

1.1Basic structure of the national legal system

Greece is a parliamentary republic. The Greek legal order has a strict hierarchical structure

provided by the Constitution,1which is written and rigid2 and prevails over statutes.

According to Article 28(1) of the Constitution, international treaties introduced into the

Greek legal order by statute and subsequently ratified prevail over statutes. Greek courts

acknowledge the primacy of EU law over the Constitution. They often apply EU law and

they interpret and apply the Constitution in light of EU law, in particular in gender equality

cases. All courts review the conformity of statutes with the standards of the Constitution,

EU law and ratified treaties and either interpret the statutes in conformity with these

standards or disapply those that they consider to be contrary thereto (Articles 93(4), 87(2)

and 28 of the Constitution). There are three branches of the judiciary: i) administrative,

ii) civil and penal and iii) the Court of Audit. The administrative courts hear claims against

the State, local authorities and other legal persons governed by public law, including claims

by their personnel and social security claims against compulsory social security schemes,

as the entities that run them are legal persons governed by public law, except for pension

claims by civil servants which are heard by the Court of Audit. The civil courts hear cases

between private persons and the penal courts hear criminal cases (Articles 94-98 of the

Constitution).

All courts incidentally review the conformity of administrative acts with the Constitution,

EU law, ratified treaties and statutes and disapply those which conflict therewith. An

administrative act of general applicability (‘acte réglementaireΣ), e.g. a decree or a

ministerial decision, which is contrary to the Constitution, EU law, a ratified treaty or a

statute, will be annulled, in whole or in part, by the competent administrative court. An

individual administrative act or omission will also be annulled on the same grounds. A

statutory provision cannot be directly challenged for annulment. It may be declared

inapplicable in a particular case because it is contrary to the Constitution, EU law or a

ratified treaty. However, when two of the three supreme courts (the Supreme Civil and

Penal Court (SCPC), the Council of State (the Supreme Administrative Court; CS), or the

Court of Audit) express conflicting opinions on the constitutionality of a statutory provision,

the Special Supreme Court may declare it invalid (Article 100 of the Constitution).

The annulment of an administrative act has, in principle, a retroactive erga omnes effect:

the act or its provision that has been annulled is deemed never to have been enacted.

However, in exceptional circumstances, the CS, taking into account the situations created

through the application of the impugned act, in particular in favour of persons of good

faith, and the public interest, may decide that these effects must start at a later date, in

any event prior to the date of the judgment.3 The CS considers that this applies not only

to actions for annulment, but to all claims before administrative courts, such as claims for

pay or social security benefits. The CS has used this discretion in judgments regarding

pension cuts. It has held that the statutory provisions on the basisof which the claimantsΣ

pensions were cut for the seventh time within two years disregarded the requirement to

respect and protect the value of the human being and the principles of solidarity, equality

in public charges and proportionality enshrined in the Constitution, so that the essence of

the right to social security, i.e. the granting of benefits allowing a decent standard of living,

1In 1975, after the fall of the seven-year military dictatorship, a new Constitution containing many

provisions on human rights, including rights pertaining to gender equality and family protection, was

adopted, while in 2001 a provision requiring positive action, in particular in favour of women, was added

(see below in Section 2.1. of this report). The text of the Constitution, as amended in 1986, 2001 and

2008, is available in Greek, English, French and German on the ParliamentΣs website:

https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/To-Politevma/Syntagma/.

2This is because in Greece the amendment of the constitutional provisions can take place only under very

strict conditions and some constitutional provisions must not be amended, as the Constitution itself

provides.

3Article 22(1) Act 4274/2014, OJ A 147/14.7.2014.