In 2013, the EPLO organized a series of four roundtable discussions with the participation of distinguished personalities of the Greek public sector on the subject of the Revision of the Hellenic constitution, a much debated topic among Greek society.
The roundtable discussions took place at the EPLO Headquarters in Athens between February and June 2013 and were attended by a broad audience consisting of politicians, senior judges, ambassadors, academics, lawyers and others.
Is it necessary to establish a Constitutional Court for the impending revision of the Constitution? Which is the right way for selecting the heads of the judiciary? Should the judiciary intervene when the legislature and the executive do not function properly? How and to what extent?
These were the issues that were discussed among the speakers and the audience during the second roundtable discussion on the issue of the revision of the constitution, which took place on 4 april 2013.
Mr. Panagiotis Pikrammenos, former Prime Minister of Greece, presided over the event, and Mrs. olga Kefalogianni, Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Zoi Konstantopoulou, Syriza MP, Mrs. Milena Apostolaki, former Minister, and Dr. ioannis Karkalis, Vice-Commissioner of the State, who also had the scientific responsibility of the event, were the speakers.
Mr. Charalambos Athanassiou, then Alternate Minister of Interior, Mr. Konstantinos Menoudakos, President of the Council of State, Mr. Ioannis Karavokyris, President of the Court of Audit, and Ms. Vasiliki Thanou-Hristofilou, President of the Union of Judges and Prosecutors were among those who spoke.
In his presentation and his interventions, Mr. Pikrammenos underlined that the major issue today is neither the wages nor the delay in the administration of justice, but rather that the two other state powers (the legislative and the executive) do not function properly and this has a direct influence on justice. He supported the opening up of justice to society and added that the economic independence of the judicial system is a condition for its overall independence. In addition, he criticized the “quasi employee-zation” of justice and wondered: “since everyone is talking about the country facing exceptional circumstances, why should we rush into a charged revision of the Constitution?”
