The Protection of Citizens before the administrative authorities
The Citizen can defend her/his rights before the administrative authorities. This is the simplest way for someone to claim his rights. Moreover, the Citizen avoids the court expenses. On the other hand, apart from the Independent Administrative Authorities (e.g. Data Protection Authority, Council for Radio and Television, Authority for the Secrecy of the Correspondence), the administrative authorities (organized in Greece according to
the bureaucratic and hierarchical model) do not possess independency. Article 10 par. 1 of the Greek Constitution provides the classic Right to Petition: “Each person, acting on his own or together with others, shall have the right, observing the laws of the State, to petition in writing public authorities, who shall be obliged to take prompt action in accordance with provisions in force, and to give a written and reasoned reply to the petitioner as provided by law”. This right would be ineffective without another related fundamental right, the Right of Access to Administrative Documents and Information, also guaranteed in Art. 10 par. 3 of the Greek Constitution as an essential part of the transparency of the state action: “The competent service or authority is obliged to reply to requests for information and for providing documents, especially certificates, supporting documents and attestations within a set deadline not exceeding 60 days, as specified by law. In case this deadline elapses without action or in case of unlawful refusal, in addition to any other sanctions and consequences at law, special compensation is also paid to the applicant, as specified by law” (see also Article 5 of the Code of Administrative Procedure). Finally, of great theoretical and practical importance is Art. 20 par. 2 of the Greek Constitution about the Right to Prior Hearing: “The right of a person to a prior hearing also applies in any administrative action or measure adopted against the rights or interests of the citizen”(see also Article 6 of the Code of Administrative Procedure).
The Protection of Citizens before the courts (Judicial Protection)
If someone’s rights are violated by the State organs, she/he can seek the annulment of the relevant illegal state act before the competent administrative courts, in the frame of the Right to Judicial Protection according to Article 20 par. 1 of the Greek Constitution. The administrative jurisdiction in Greece is separate from the jurisdiction of the civil/ criminal courts and is structured in three levels: Administrative Courts of First Instance, Administrative Courts of Appeal and “Symvoulio tis Epikratias” (Council of State), the highest Greek Administrative Court founded in 1929 and influenced by the French “Conseil d’Etat”. In urgent cases, the citizen can also raise a remedy for interim relief.
If the illegal act of the State organ causes a damage to the Citizen, the latter has the right to ask for compensation from the State before the competent administrative courts. According to Art. 105 of the Introductory Law to the Greek Civil Code and article 38 of the current Civil Servants’Code (Law 3528/2007), when a state organ, acting in its public authority, behaves unlawfully and damages a citizen, then the Greek State (and not the public servant himself) has to compensate the citizen and repair his damage. This State’s responsibility (called “civil liability”) is ‘objective’ and not ‘subjective’, that means that it does not depend on the fault of the state organ (the fact of the illegality of the state action is enough). The public servant remains responsible against the State only in the cases of dolus and gross (heavy) negligence. If this is the case, the State can seek the compensation which was given to the citizen through a procedure before the Court of Auditors.
The administrative courts in Greece, exactly like the civil and criminal courts, are independent from the organs of the other two state powers (Legislative and Executive), according the fundamental constitutional principle of the separation of the powers (Article 26 of the Greek Constitution, see also Articles 87 seq.). In Greece, contrary to the majority of the countries of continental Europe, there is no Constitutional Court (only the Highest Special Court of Article 100 of the Greek Constitution acts as a Constitutional Court in a very limited number of cases). The judges of all instances have the right and the duty to examine the constitutionality of the legislation (Articles 87 par. 2 and 93 par. 4 of the Greek Constitution).The organs of the executive power (e.g. Ministers, civil servants) have the duty to obey to the court’s decisions (Article 95 par. 5 of the Greek Constitution). Although the violation of this duty constitutes a serious disciplinary and criminal offence, in the praxis administration organs do not always fulfill this requirement. Another disadvantage is to be seen in the delay of the Judiciary to trial the pending cases and to issue the relevant decisions. For this reason, the legislator has recently enacted Law 4055/2012, according to which the citizens, under certain circumstances, have the right to a reasonable compensation in cases of a court delay.
The Duties of the Citizens
The Citizens do not have only rights, but they also have duties against the State. The most important of them are regulated by the Greek Constitution: Duty of Greek Citizens to pay taxes and other public charges in proportion to their economic situation (Article 5 par. 5) and obligation of every Greek capable of bearing arms to contribute to the defense of the country (Article 5 par. 6). In addition, Article 22 par. 3 of the Greek Constitution provides an exception from the prohibition of the compulsory work, ruling that “Special laws shall determine the requisition of personal services in case of war or mobilization or to face defense needs of the country or urgent social emergencies resulting from disasters or liable to endanger public health, as well as the contribution of personal work to local government agencies to satisfy local needs”. More generally, Article 25 par. 4 of the Greek Constitution rules that the State has the right to demand from all citizens to fulfill their duty of “social and national solidarity”.
