Parliament: The bill for the judicial police is being voted on tomorrow

The processing of the Ministry of Justice’s bill for the establishment and operation of the Judicial Police has also been completed in the second reading in the competent committee of the parliament, the discussion of which will be completed tomorrow with its vote by the Plenary session.

The government majority was in favor of the principle of the bill, while all the Opposition parties reserved themselves for the Plenary session, except for the KKE which declared that it would vote against.

The Minister of Justice, Kostas Tsiaras, reiterated his commitments for legislative improvement changes, assuring that by tomorrow, many of the proposals and comments submitted by both the parties and the competent bodies will be incorporated into the bill.

Referring in particular to the controversial provision put forward by the Opposition, for the head of the Judicial Police, Mr. Tsiaras left open the possibility of its improvement, noting that the matter was of intense concern to the leadership of the ministry in order to find a solution that did not create a risk of characterized as unconstitutional, pointing out “that the choice for a retired judge initially seemed like a one-way street”.

“The answer is not at all easy in which direction we should move and whether it should be a retired or active judicial officer or should the choice be from the wider scientific community. I believe that by tomorrow we will arrive at a mutually acceptable wording that will satisfy, I want to believe, most colleagues,” he said.

In fact, he described the proposal of the general rapporteur of PASOK-KINAL as “logical”. Harry Kastanidisso that the head of the Judicial Police is selected through a call for interest process, adding that “a solution will be found that will not leave any questions or raise doubts as to the intentions of the ministry”.

Mr. Tsiaras he also announced the filing of an amendment that will foresee, for the first time, the institution of a press representative of the courts, with the aim, as he said, to clarify, where and when necessary, court decisions for every case that concerns public opinion.

“The current situation helps us to understand this need and thus the trust of the public opinion in justice will be consolidated in this way”, he added.

Furthermore, Mr. Tsiaras clarified that the responsibilities of the regional directorates will be defined and clarified by a presidential decree, which will be issued by the end of September, after consultation with the Ministry of Citizen Protection and with judicial and prosecutorial officials .

Mr. Tsiaras also accepted the proposal of the president of the Bar Association, Dimitris Vervesos, that a lawyer also participate in the 15-member Examination Committee for the recruitments, clarifying that he should have 15 years of service.

For their part, the Opposition parties focused

The general rapporteur of SYRIZA Avlonitis recognized that the establishment and operation of the Judicial Police is a universal demand and necessary to facilitate the work of justice, however he expressed strong reservations as to whether the judicial officer who will manage the service should be retired and not active .

At the same time, he suggested that the head should be a practicing judge and be appointed by the Ministry of Justice after the approval of the Supreme Judicial Council.

He also asked that the responsibilities of the regional directorates be specified in the bill and not by issuing presidential decrees.

The general rapporteur of PASOK KINAL, Haris Kastanidis, described as positive the intention of the Minister of Justice to improve the bill in accordance with the proposals that have been submitted, while he particularly emphasized the provision for the head of the Directorate of the Judicial Police, expressing his reservations as he is a retired judicial officer and proposing the expansion of nominations with a public open call, so that, as he said, the final selection is consistent with democratic procedures

It was also drafted with the proposal of Mr. Avlonitis to clarify with strong wording in the bill the responsibilities of the regional directorates, while he reiterated the need in the first phase for the judicial police to be staffed by transfers and secondments from ELAS and later to decide whether recruitments are needed.

Maria Komninaka, a special member of the KKE, expressed her disagreement with the bill, accusing the government that “its intention is to create another repressive mechanism, to police justice” without solving the existing problems that exist in society and justice.

The specialist buyer of the Hellenic Solution, Kostas Chitas, focused his criticism on the problem of understaffing of the judicial services and the lack of appropriate infrastructure, questioning whether the new legislative measures are applicable and implementable.

The special buyer of MeRA25, Maria Apatsidi, also focused on the problem of understaffing, criticizing the government that there was no care on its part either to fill the 3,200 vacant positions of judicial employees or to house the new executives who will be hired in the Judiciary Police as the infrastructure is non-existent.

For his part, the chairman of the Public Administration, Public Order and Justice Committee, Maximos Charakopoulos, called it “very encouraging and important that there is in principle a positive disposition of the vast majority of the parties and the bodies involved, in the core of the bill, despite individual comments and their differences”.

“The establishment of the Judicial Police is a need of the times and a mature request that we probably took too long to legislate, which solves substantial problems and speeds up the administration of justice, which is the defining pillar of democracy,” stressed Mr. Harakopoulos.

RES-EMP

View the news feed and get the latest news.