Justice bill: Tsiaras accepted the opposition’s proposals

With the Minister of Justice Costa Ciarato accept observations and proposals from the opposition and the competent judicial bodies, and to announce legal technical improvements and changes, in the disputed provision that provides for the head of the Judicial Police to be a retired supreme judge, was completed in the competent Committee of the Parliament, the processing in A Reading of the relevant bill of the Ministry of Justice.

Mr. Tsiaras announced at the same time that “after September 15, the bill for the New National School of Judicial Officers will be presented and given for consultation, which will deal with the country’s major problem that has not yet been solved, which is insufficient staffing of courts with judicial officers”.

As Mr. Tsiaras said, regardless of the tensions and comments submitted, the bill has the almost universal acceptance of both the competent bodies and the opposition parties, who, as he said, recognized the necessity of establishing and operating a Judicial Police to assist the judicial work and speed up the administration of justice.

“In relation to the articles of the bill that were touched upon by bodies and parties, several corrections have been made and until it comes to the Plenary we will pay even more attention to them”, said Mr. Tsiaras and continued: “The fact of the election of the president of the Judicial Police troubled us a lot because it’s a huge issue. There was and still is no purpose in the proposal of the ministry to be headed by a retired supreme judge. I’m open to suggestions to redesign the layout. I will not persist. We have already discussed it with the agencies and the judges. The selection may be made by invitation. We don’t want there to be any vacuum or thoughts that the Department of Justice wants to be in a certain direction.”

Still, Mr. Tsiaras stated positive to the proposal of the president of the Athens Bar Association, Dimitris Vervesosthat there should be representation of lawyers in the selection committee for the recruitment competition for judicial officers as well as in the observation of the general rapporteur of the ND, Andreas Patsis, for improvements in the provision regarding transfers and secondments.

Mr. Tsiaras emphasized the European Commission’s report on the selection of supreme judges in Greece, stressing that “its positive impression on our country is very important”, rejecting accusations of government interference in the judiciary.

“The Judiciary operates through its independent and constitutionally guaranteed role and one cannot set up popular courts and enter the logic of 2010, through exhortations or positions, because these logics do great harm to democracy and society. Justice cannot be the subject of tug-of-war and political confrontations because it is the place that weak citizens turn to in order to ensure their democratic rights and the institution that keeps both the State and democracy alive and standing”concluded Mr. Tsiaras.

For their part, the opposition parties expressed strong reservations and serious objections to certain provisions, calling on the Minister of Justice to proceed with corrections and clarifications.

The processing of the bill will continue tomorrow in second reading in the Committee, while on Wednesday July 27 it will be discussed and voted on by the Plenary.

RES-EMP

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