Greek Court Overhaul Cuts Decision Times Nearly in Half

Greece’s tribunal backlog has fallen sharply aft a sweeping judicial overhaul, with the mean clip to contented a determination dropping from 774 days to 386 days successful the archetypal twelvemonth of the reform, according to Justice Ministry data.

The diminution follows the instauration of the alleged Judicial Map betterment successful September 2024, which reorganized the tribunal strategy and aimed to velocity up lawsuit handling crossed the country. The nationalist lawsuit clearance complaint besides improved markedly, rising from 86.2% to 99.7%, bringing the strategy adjacent to balancing caller filings with resolved cases.

The biggest gains person travel successful the country’s largest courts. The Athens Court of First Instance, which handles astir 55% of each litigation nationwide, posted a 104% clearance rate, meaning judges are clearing aged cases successful summation to existent ones. In Athens, the mean clip for a determination fell from 1,448 days to 535 days.

Similar improvements were recorded successful Thessaloniki and Piraeus, wherever mean determination times dropped to 240 days and 282 days, respectively.

Deputy Justice Minister Mr. Ioannis Bougas described the changes arsenic the astir important organization involution successful modern Greek justice. He said the tribunal reshuffle, unneurotic with integer upgrades and revised ineligible codes, had created the conditions for a much businesslike system.

The authorities says it remains connected way to conscionable a people of issuing final, binding decisions wrong an mean of 700 days by the extremity of its term, down from 1,492 days successful 2022. The reforms are being presented arsenic 1 of the government’s astir tangible attempts to tackle a justness strategy agelong criticized for delays that hampered business, citizens and nationalist trust.

By Anna Kandylli