Sakellaropoulou to judges: Reforms need study, bravery and consensus – See photos

The President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, had a meeting with senior judges and representatives of the country’s legal world earlier today, Monday at the Presidential Palace.

The meeting lasted more than three hours and the main issues discussed were mainly the delays in the administration of justice, the uncontrollable court adjournments, the gaps in the organizational positions and other administrative problems concerning issues of justice.

“We see successive regulations being introduced, which often complicate things or at least prove to be insufficient. To be able to find solutions, cuts are needed, not tweaks and patches. But intersections require consent, they require bravery and mutual concessions” characteristically pointed out Mrs. Sakkelaropoulou during her introductory statement and emphasized that reforms need study, bravery and consensus.

The President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou received at the Presidential Palace the President of the Council of State Evangelia Nikas, the President of the Supreme Court Maria Georgiou, the President of the Audit Court Ioannis Sharma, the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Isidoros Dogiakos, the General Commissioner of the State of Tactics Administrative Courts Dimitrios Kostakis, the President of the Legal Council of the State Eugenia Velonis, the President of the Athens Bar Association and President of the Plenary Session of the Bar Associations of Greece Dimitris Vervesos and the President of the Federation of Judicial Employees of Greece Georgios Diamantis. This was followed by a discussion on issues related to Justice.

Mrs. Sakellaropoulou’s proposal in detail

“Thank you for being here today. As you remember, we started before the holidays trying to find a date that works for everyone for the meeting, which is purely formal, rather than meeting each of you separately, as we often do.

We know very well that in our country (not only, but the discussion is about Greece) justice is facing perennial problems, which are obviously not going to be solved by meetings, here or elsewhere. But because of not only my previous capacity as a judge for 40 years, but also my current one, I have a duty to try to raise the issue of the need for dialogue. To exchange opinions, so that the issues of justice, which are very serious because they concern the tranquility of society as a whole, are not treated with parallel monologues, but with dialogue. With the wish that you continue to meet each other, listen to each other. Because the issues concerning justice do not all require the intervention of the legislator, but many can be dealt with within the framework of the current legislative framework.
We all talk about timely and effective administration of justice and Greece has been running behind these magic words for decades. The judges, the lawyers, everyone. And of course the society that is suffering. It is not very easy, but I insist that much can be done to deal with this pathology, because justice is a collective good, but its operation is something that can be improved.

We see successive regulations being introduced, which often complicate things or at least prove to be insufficient. To be able to find solutions, cuts are needed, not tweaks and patches. However, intersections require consents, they require bravery and mutual concessions. I know that at this time there have already been discussions about the delays which are a big issue. As can be seen from the indicators of the EU Justice Scoreboard, which has a large role in the measures proposed to the member states and in the financing from the Recovery fund, Greece appears to be lagging behind in this matter. At least for administrative disputes there is a significant improvement, from 1500 days in 2013 to 600, which is still behind the European average index.

The issue of the zoning map is also a big issue, because the state of affairs in justice is also dynamic. Greece is not the Greece of 1960, not even of 2000, therefore the layout of the courts is also to be studied. In this matter, it is inevitable that there will be reactions and reservations both from the citizens, local communities and local associations, as well as from the judges. That is why I say that reforms need study, courage and consensus.
There are also many other issues, such as the evaluation of the judges’ work, however annoying that word may sometimes be. These issues cannot be solved only by the judges, the legislator or the respective government, but all the bodies of justice must be willing to reflect and cooperate.
This is generally the context on which we will exchange views. And it is necessary that we meet, that you meet in the future, since I no longer have a role, while you still serve justice.

The only thing we won’t discuss is current affairs, since that goes beyond the limits of my institutional capacity.

Thank you”.

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