Historic decision: “De Grece” officially approved by the Council of State for Pavlos and 9 other members of the former royal family

The 10 members of the household of erstwhile king Constantine constitutionally and lawfully received the surname De Grèce (of Greece) and Greek citizenship, the Council of State ruled, successful a closed-door deliberation, portion besides rejecting the annulment exertion filed by EKPA Law School prof Panagiotis Lazaratos.

Automatically, pursuing the work of the determination of the seven-member enclosure of the Council of State, expected successful the coming period, each privileges provided by the Hellenic Republic and the Constitution are granted to the members of the erstwhile royal family, including the close to ballot and to beryllium elected. This is due to the fact that the hurdle of unconstitutionality and illegality regarding the naming and citizenship of the De Grèce family, which had been raised earlier the Council of State, has present been flooded and belongs to the past.

More specifically, successful mid-2024, Interior Minister Thodoris Livanios signed the declaratory enactment confirming that the conditions are met for the restoration of Greek citizenship to the erstwhile royal family, successful accordance with Article 6 of Law 2215/1994 connected the “regulation of matters concerning the expropriated spot of the deposed royal household of Greece.”

With the aforesaid decision, an bid was fixed for the registration of the 10 members of the erstwhile royal household successful the municipal registry of the Municipality of Athens. With work successful the Government Gazette, they were fixed the quality to registry successful the Citizens’ Registry, which allowed them to get Greek individuality cards and Greek passports, arsenic until past they held Danish ones.

At the aforesaid time, the 10 members of the erstwhile royal household submitted an exertion to beryllium granted Greek citizenship astatine the Athens Registry Office. Earlier, successful 2024, 50 years aft the 1974 referendum that abolished the monarchy, the children of Constantine Glücksburg and Anne-Marie formally accepted the Constitution and the country’s strategy of government, declaring that they person nary claims against the Greek state. These are the 5 children of erstwhile king Constantine, arsenic good arsenic the 5 children of his eldest son, Pavlos.

Historic ruling: “De Grèce” officially approved by the Council of State for Pavlos and 9 different members of the erstwhile royal family
Pavlos and Marie-Chantal airs successful a festive temper with their 5 children

The designation of the surname De Grèce and the granting of Greek citizenship specifically interest the children of erstwhile king Constantine (Pavlos, Nikolaos, Philippos, Theodora and Alexia), arsenic good arsenic the children of Pavlos and Marie-Chantal, namely: 1) Achileas-Andreas De Grèce, lad of Pavlos and Marie-Chantal, 2) Alexia De Grèce, girl of Constantine and Anne-Marie, 3) Pavlos De Grèce, lad of Constantine and Anne-Marie, 4) Nikolaos De Grèce, lad of Constantine and Anne-Marie, 5) Odysseas-Kimon De Grèce, lad of Pavlos and Marie-Chantal, 6) Konstantinos-Alexios De Grèce, lad of Pavlos and Marie-Chantal, 7) Aristidis-Stavros De Grèce, lad of Pavlos and Marie-Chantal, 8) Theodora De Grèce, girl of Constantine and Anne-Marie, 9) Philippos De Grèce, lad of Constantine and Anne-Marie, and 10) Maria-Olympia De Grèce, girl of Pavlos and Marie-Chantal.

Historic ruling: “De Grèce” officially approved by the Council of State for Pavlos and 9 different members of the erstwhile royal family
The Government Gazette granting Greek citizenship and the surname they chose to members of the erstwhile royal family

Strong democracy

As authorities spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis had stated 2 years ago, this concerns Law 2215/1994, which sets circumstantial conditions for settling the pending contented regarding the civilian presumption of erstwhile king Constantine II and his household members.

“There is nary ‘special treatment’,” Marinakis clarified astatine the time, adding that “we person a beardown Democracy, a fortified strategy of government, and our Democracy and our strategy tin support themselves.”

The conditions acceptable by the instrumentality for the erstwhile royal household are:

A/ Their explicit declaration that they admit the law bid established aft the 1974 referendum that ended the monarchy successful Greece. That is, they state respect for the Constitution and Parliamentary Democracy.

B/ Their renunciation of immoderate claims oregon demands linked to the erstwhile governmental strategy and the capacities they held wrong it, meaning they relinquish titles of nobility.

C/ Their registration successful the Citizens’ Registry, arsenic provided by instrumentality for each citizens, namely the enactment of a surname and different details indispensable for municipal registration.

Prince Michael

It is recalled that astir 2 decades earlier, successful 2004, Michael De Grèce, Prince Michael of Greece, a comparative of the erstwhile royal household of Glücksburg (a relative of the erstwhile king), had renounced titles, privileges, etc., declared loyalty to the antiauthoritarian system, and frankincense obtained Greek citizenship and a Greek passport.

Michel de Grèce, arsenic helium was known abroad, was the lone subordinate of the erstwhile royal household who remained successful Greece, wherever helium lived until his death, pursuing the failed counter-coup of 13 December 1967, erstwhile Constantine unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the junta regime.

However, tenable questions are raised, according to law scholars and ineligible experts, by the information that the 10 members of the erstwhile royal household requested and obtained Greek citizenship with important delay, fixed that lone Nikolaos lives permanently successful Greece, portion Pavlos divides his clip betwixt Greece, New York, and London.

The reply to this question, arsenic leaked from the De Grèce side, is that the household seeks to fortify its ties with Greece, particularly fixed that Nikolaos lives present permanently, portion Pavlos has besides shown an volition to walk sizeable clip successful Greece.

However, law scholars constituent retired that the De Grèce household present holds Greek passports and, arsenic Greek citizens, enjoys each the privileges provided by the Hellenic Republic and the Constitution, including the close to ballot and to basal for election. This improvement allows them, if they wish—although they person publically категорically rejected the possibility—to adjacent recovered a governmental party.

The rights to ballot and to beryllium elected are cardinal governmental rights enshrined successful Article 51 of the Constitution arsenic the ultimate look of the rule of fashionable sovereignty.

Constitutional scholars besides enactment that the De Grèce household has a idiosyncratic leafage connected societal media (The Greek Royal Family), with 37,100 followers, wherever nationalist appearances of the household are recorded done a ample fig of posted photographs.

They further adhd that Pavlos De Grèce, arsenic helium himself stated, attended “for the archetypal time” this year’s March 25 subject parade and spoke with conscripts.

The Constitution

The Constitution provides, among different things, for the close to ballot and to basal for election, etc.:

■ Article 29, paragraph 1: Greek citizens who person the close to ballot whitethorn freely found and enactment successful governmental parties, whose enactment and enactment indispensable service the escaped functioning of the antiauthoritarian system.

■ Article 51, paragraph 3: Members of Parliament are elected by direct, cosmopolitan and concealed ballot by citizens who person the close to vote, arsenic defined by law. The instrumentality whitethorn restrict the close to ballot lone successful cases of nonaccomplishment to conscionable the minimum property requirement, ineligible incapacity, oregon arsenic a effect of an irrevocable transgression condemnation for definite offenses.

■ Article 55, paragraph 1: In bid to beryllium elected a Member of Parliament, 1 indispensable beryllium a Greek citizen, person the ineligible capableness to vote, and person reached the property of twenty-five connected the time of election.

■ Paragraph 2: A Member of Parliament who loses immoderate of the supra qualifications automatically forfeits their office.

The annulment application

Professor Panagiotis Lazaratos of the EKPA Law School had appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court, challenging what helium argued were unconstitutional decisions by the Interior Minister recognizing Greek citizenship for members of the erstwhile royal family, portion besides contesting their registration successful the municipal registry of the Municipality of Athens.

Mr. Lazaratos argued that “Article 4 paragraph 7 of the Constitution aims to forestall anyone from bearing a sanction that would confer upon them the prestige and people root of the past, thereby endangering societal equality, societal cohesion, and the precise beingness of the Democratic system.”

The prof further noted that the proviso of Article 4 of the Constitution “aims to forestall the perpetuation of a consciousness of superiority for those holding titles of nobility oregon distinction, with the imaginable of reviving a law contented nether favorable governmental circumstances,” adding that done this law proviso “popular sovereignty is established truthful that neither the deposed king nor his descendants tin ever conspire to prehend power, frankincense safeguarding Democracy, the cohesion of the state, and societal cohesion, by preventing the deposed, their descendants, and their supporters from reviving the Crowned Republic.”

The court

The annulment exertion of Mr. Lazaratos was examined by the seven-member sheet of the Fourth Section of the Council of State, chaired by Vice President Spyridoula Chrysikopoulou, with rapporteur Assistant Judge Haido Evangelou.

As the applicant prof emphasized during the hearing, the cardinal contented was whether the surname De Grèce, which does not correspond to the accustomed signifier of surnames successful Greece, could make the content among citizens that the idiosyncratic bearing it enjoys privileges of root oregon societal status, thing contrary to Article 4 paragraph 7 of the Constitution, which stipulates that “titles of nobility oregon favoritism are neither granted nor recognized for Greek citizens.”

Consequently, according to Mr. Lazaratos, the members of the erstwhile royal family, by virtuousness of their identity, origin, personality, activity, and history, objectively make the content among Greek citizens that they person privileges derived from their lineage and societal status, successful a mode prohibited by Article 4 of the Constitution.

On the different hand, the lawyer (Legal Council of the State) representing the Ministry of the Interior, Vasiliki Papaloi, focused earlier the Council of State connected the statement that Mr. Lazaratos lacked ineligible lasting to record the annulment application. She pointed retired that the lawsuit truthful amounted to a fashionable lawsuit.

The seven-member sheet of the Fourth Section, successful a closed-door deliberation, rejected Mr. Lazaratos’ annulment application, proceeding to analyse the substance of the case.

The Council of State judges ruled that the surname De Grèce whitethorn beryllium utilized by members of the erstwhile royal family, arsenic it does not struggle with law provisions and legislation, and that the challenged ministerial determination is lawful. Furthermore, it was held that Mr. Lazaratos did person ineligible lasting to entreaty to the Council of State against the decisions of the Interior Minister.