15 March 2024
The Ghost of Moria
How the Mytilene criminal court deals with the case against the Moria 4 in the court of second instance. Continue reading >>
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16 February 2024
Advancing Accountability
In Alkhatib and Others v. Greece, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has condemned Greece for yet another instance of human rights violations in border management. By underlining the importance of clear regulations and adequate evidence within border operations, the Court showed avenues to enhance the accountability framework for violations perpetrated at Europe’s borders. Its decision contrasts favourably with the approach taken in the EU at large, where both legislators and national and supranational courts generally disregard the opacity in regulations governing border operations and the difficulty of collecting evidence for migrants. Continue reading >>
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16 June 2023
The Brave New World of Areios Pagos
These are exciting times for Greek constitutionalists. In its capacity as electoral judge, the first section of the Greek Supreme Civil and Criminal Court (Areios Pagos) recently banned the participation of the neo-Nazi Hellenes National Party in the elections of 21 May. In order to accept the constitutionality of the legislative ban on Hellenes National Party, Areios Pagos had to provide not only a new interpretation of Greek constitutional provisions, but also a whole new vision of democracy, of the Greek and the European Constitution and of Greek constitutional politics. The brave new world of Areios Pagos is part of a new constitutionalist approach that is likely to affect the application of constitutional provisions in future cases, as the more recent decision concerning the elections of 25 June shows. Continue reading >>
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24 May 2023
Greece’s Ambivalent Turn to Militant Democracy
On 2 May 2023, the Greek Court of Cassation (Areios Pagos) ruled on the certification of the candidate lists of the political parties that could lawfully participate in the Greek parliamentary elections of 21 May. It refused to certify the participation of the Hellenes National Party, the successor of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party. The refusal to certify the party breaks away from previous case law on political party certification and indicates a tentative, yet incomplete embrace of militant democracy by a jurisdiction that has traditionally been hostile towards its philosophy. Continue reading >>
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25 February 2021
Constitutionalism and COVID-19 in Greece: The Normality of Emergency
In the first wave of the pandemic (March-June 2020) Greece has been widely praised for having taken all necessary actions to contain effectively the spread of the virus. Despite the reasonable concerns, a consensus among scholars about the constitutionality of harsh restrictions on rights was reached, along with a broad social acceptance, due to the priority of health public interest and the exceptional character of the measures. Set by an emergency mechanism, the framework of the “crisis-law” remains alive and binding, while the country is possibly entering, after the second and more lethal spike (November-January), the third wave of Covid-19. Continue reading >>14 April 2020
The Coronavirus Crisis-Law in Greece: A (Constitutional) Matter of Life and Death
Each time a crisis emerges, the law is entitled to seize the exceptional moment and contain it, within the limits of democracy and the rule of law. Legal normality, as a vague standard, is usually redefined by the legislator and the courts and rapidly adjusted to reality. The constitutional value of public interest comes into conflict with civil liberties and scholars begin to question the law. The saga of the (Greek) coronavirus crisis-law is, like everywhere, utterly reduced to the proportionality of the exceptional measures of the (Greek) State, but its moral and political implications seem far broader and ambiguous. Continue reading >>
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19 March 2017
New Forces for the Greek State: Comments on Comments
The pointed commentary published on Verfassungsblog over the last week—coming from different perspectives and informed from different experiences—shows the potential of such debates. In the case of Greece, they are an important addition to a discourse focusing too much on austerity or debt sustainability. Continue reading >>12 March 2017
Against Renationalization
Von Bogdandy and Ioannidis’ implicit suggestion that the question of legitimacy in institution-builing could be bypassed by making use of the Greek diaspora is not really convincing. Sergio Dellavalles's response to the proposal made by v.Bogdandy/Ioannidis. Continue reading >>
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10 March 2017
All we need is Trust: Conditions are not a Means of Punishment
Armin von Bogdandy’s and Michael Ioannidis’ proposals are highly welcome, as are any proposals to strengthen the Greek State as a strong partner in the EU. No doubt, there will be no fourth rescue package, so we better try something else. Continue reading >>10 March 2017
The Strain of the New Forces
Greece has a problem with its institutions, a fact admitted even by the government of that country. The prospect of bankruptcy and collapse of the European order represents a good justification for the proposal made by v. Bogdandy and Ioannidis. Continue reading >>
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