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The Constitution of Greece
In the name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, The Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes Resolves:
Article I
1. The form of government of Greece is that of a parliamentary republic.
2. Popular sovereignty is the foundation of government.
3. All powers derive from the People and exist for the People and the
Nation; they shall be exercised as specified by the Constitution.
Article II
1. Respect and protection of the value of the human being constitute
the primary obligations of the State.
2. Greece, adhering to the generally recognized rules of international
law, pursues the strengthening of peace and of justice, and the fostering
of friendly relations between peoples and States.
Article III
1. The prevailing religion in Greece is that of the Eastern Orthodox
Church of Christ. The Orthodox Church of Greece, acknowledging our Lord
Jesus Christ as its head, is inseparably united in doctrine with the
Great Church of Christ in Constantinople and with every other Church
of Christ of the same doctrine, observing unwaveringly, as they do,
the holy apostolic and synodal canons and sacred traditions. It is autocephalous
and is administered by the Holy Synod of serving Bishops and the Permanent
Holy Synod originating thereof and assembled as specified by the Statutory
Charter of the Church in compliance with the provisions of the Patriarchal
Tome of June 29, 1850 and the Synodal Act of September 4, 1928.
2. The ecclesiastical regime existing in certain districts of the State
shall not be deemed contrary to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
3. The text of the Holy Scripture shall be maintained unaltered. Official
translation of the text into any other form of language, without prior
sanction by the Autocephalous Church of Greece and the Great Church
of Christ in Constantinople, is prohibited.
Article IV
1. All Greeks are equal before the law.
2. Greek men and women have equal rights and equal obligations.
3. All persons possessing the qualifications for citizenship as specified
by law are Greek citizens. Withdrawal of Greek citizenship shall be
permitted only in case of voluntary acquisition of another citizenship
or of undertaking service contrary to national interests in a foreign
country, under the conditions and procedures more specifically provided
by law.
4. Only Greek citizens shall be eligible for public service, except
as otherwise provided by special laws.
5. Greek citizens contribute without distinction to public charges in
proportion to their means.
6. Every Greek capable of bearing arms is obliged to contribute to the
defense of the Fatherland as provided by law.
7. Titles of nobility or distinction are neither conferred upon nor
recognized in Greek citizens.
Article V
1. All persons shall have the right to develop freely their personality
and to participate in the social, economic and political life of the
country, insofar as they do not infringe the rights of others or violate
the Constitution and the good usages.
2. All persons living within the Greek territory shall enjoy full protection
of their life, honor and liberty irrespective of nationality, race or
language and of religious or political beliefs. Exceptions shall be
permitted only in cases provided by international law.
The extradition of aliens prosecuted for their action as freedom-fighters
shall be prohibited. 3. Personal liberty is inviolable. No one shall
be prosecuted, arrested, imprisoned or otherwise confined except when
and as the law provides.
4. Individual administrative measures restrictive of the free movement
or residence in the country, and of the free exit and entrance therein
of every Greek shall be prohibited. Such measures may be imposed in
exceptional cases of emergency and only in order to prevent the commitment
of criminal acts, following a criminal court ruling, as specified by
law. In extremely urgent cases the ruling may be issued after the administrative
measure has been imposed and within three days at the latest; otherwise
it is lifted ipso jure.
Interpretative clause:
Paragraph 4 does not preclude the prohibition of exit from the country
for persons being prosecuted on criminal charges by act of the public
prosecutor, or the imposition of measures necessary for the protection
of public health or the health of sick persons, as specified by law.
Article 6
1. No person shall be arrested or imprisoned without a reasoned judicial
warrant which must be served at the moment of arrest or detention pending
trial, except when caught in the act of committing a crime.
2. A person who is arrested in the act of committing a crime or on a
warrant shall be brought before the competent examining magistrate within
twenty-four hours of his arrest at the latest; should the arrest be
made outside the seat of the examining magistrate, within the shortest
time required to transfer him thereto. The examining magistrate must,
within three days from the day the person was brought before him, either
release the detainee or issue a warrant of imprisonment. Upon application
of the person brought before him or in case of force majeure confirmed
by decision of the competent judicial council, this time-limit shall
be extended by two days.
3. Should either of these time-limits elapse before action has been
taken, any warden or other officer, civil or military servant, responsible
for the detention of the arrested person must release him immediately.
Violators shall be punished for illegal detention and shall be liable
to restore any damage caused to the sufferer and to pay him a monetary
compensation for pain and suffering, as specified by law.
4. The maximum duration of detention pending trial shall be specified
by law; such detention may not exceed a period of one year in the case
of felonies or six months in the case of misdemeanors. In entirely exceptional
cases, the maximum durations may be extended by six or three months
respectively, by decision of the competent judicial council.
Article 7
1. There shall be no crime, nor shall punishment be inflicted unless
specified by law in force prior to the perpetration of the act, defining
the constitutive elements of the act. In no case shall punishment more
severe than that specified at the time of the perpetration of the act
be inflicted.
2. Torture, any bodily maltreatment, impairment of health or the use
of psychological violence, as well as any other offence against human
dignity are prohibited and punished as provided by law.
3. General confiscation of property is prohibited. The death sentence
shall not be imposed for political crimes, unless these are composite.
4. The conditions under which the State, following a judicial decision,
shall indemnify persons unjustly or illegally convicted, detained pending
trial, or otherwise deprived of their personal liberty shall be provided
by law.
Article 8
No person shall be deprived of the judge assigned to him by law against
his will.
Judicial committees or extraordinary courts, under any name whatsoever,
shall not be constituted.
Article 9
1. Every person's home is a sanctuary. The private and family life of
the individual is inviolable. No home search shall be made, except when
and as specified by law and always in the presence of representatives
of the judicial power.
2. Violators of the preceding provision shall be punished for violating
the home's asylum and for abuse of power, and shall be liable for full
damages to the sufferer, as specified by law.
Article 10
1. 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.
2. Prosecution of the person who has submitted a petition for punishable
acts contained therein shall be permitted only after notification of
the final decision of the authority to which the petition was addressed
has taken place and after permission of this authority has been obtained.
3. A request for information shall oblige the competent authority to
reply, provided the law thus stipulates.
Article 11
1. Greeks shall have the right to assemble peaceably and unarmed.
2. The police may be present only at outdoor public assemblies. Outdoor
assemblies may be prohibited by a reasoned police authority decision,
in general if a serious threat to public security is imminent, and in
a specific area, if a serious disturbance of social and economic life
is threatened, as specified by law.
Article 12
1. Greeks shall have the right to form non-profit associations and unions,
in compliance with the law, which, however, may never subject the exercise
of this right to prior permission.
2. An association may not be dissolved for violation of the law or of
a substantial provision of its statutes, except by court judgment.
3. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply, as the case
may be, to unions of persons not constituting an association.
4. Restrictions on the right of civil servants to associate may be imposed
by statute. Restrictions on this right may also be imposed on employees
of local government agencies or other public law legal persons or public
corporations.
5. Agricultural and urban cooperatives of all types shall be self-governed
according to the provisions of the law and of their statutes; they shall
be under the protection and supervision of the State which is obliged
to provide for their development.
6. Establishment by law of compulsory cooperatives serving purposes
of common benefit or public interest or common exploitation of farming
areas or other wealth producing sources shall be permitted, on condition
however that the equal treatment of all participants shall be assured.
Article 13
1. Freedom of religious conscience is inviolable. The enjoyment of civil
rights and liberties does not depend on the individual's religious beliefs.
2. All known religions shall be free and their rites of worship shall
be performed unhindered and under the protection of the law. The practice
of rites of worship is not allowed to offend public order or the good
usages. Proselytism is prohibited.
3. The ministers of all known religions shall be subject to the same
supervision by the State and to the same obligations toward it as those
of the prevailing religion.
4. No person shall be exempt from discharging his obligations to the
State or may refuse to comply with the laws by reason of his religious
convictions.
5. No oath shall be imposed or administered except as specified by law
and in the form determined by law.
Article 14
1. Every person may express and propagate his thoughts orally, in writing
and through the press in compliance with the laws of the State.
2. The press is free. Censorship and all other preventive measures are
prohibited.
3. The seizure of newspapers and other publications before or after
circulation is prohibited.
Seizure by order of the public prosecutor shall be allowed exceptionally
after circulation and in case of:
a) an offence against the Christian or any other known religion.
b) an insult against the person of the President of the Republic.
c) a publication which discloses information on the composition, equipment
and set-up of the armed forces or the fortifications of the country,
or which aims at the violent overthrow of the regime or is directed
against the territorial integrity of the State.
d) an obscene publication which is obviously offensive to public decency,
in the cases stipulated by law.
4. In all the cases specified under the preceding paragraph, the public
prosecutor must, within twenty-four hours from the seizure, submit the
case to the judicial council which, within the next twenty-four hours,
must rule whether the seizure is to be maintained or lifted; otherwise
it shall be lifted ipso jure. An appeal may be lodged with the Court
of Appeals and the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court by the publisher
of the newspaper or other printed matter seized and by the public prosecutor.
5. The manner in which full retraction shall be made in cases of inaccurate
publications shall be determined by law.
6. After at least three convictions within five years for the criminal
acts defined under paragraph 3, the court shall order the definitive
ban or the temporary suspension of the publication of the paper and,
in severe cases, shall prohibit the convicted person from practicing
the profession of journalist as specified by law. The ban or suspension
of publication shall be effective as of the date the court order becomes
irrevocable.
7. Press offences shall be subject to immediate court hearing and shall
be tried as provided by law.
8. The conditions and qualifications requisite for the practice of the
profession of journalist shall be specified by law.
9. The law may specify that the means of financing newspapers and periodicals
should be disclosed.
Article 15
1. The protective provisions for the press in the preceding article
shall not be applicable to films, sound recordings, radio, television
or any other similar medium for the transmission of speech or images.
2. Radio and television shall be under the immediate control of the
State and shall aim at the objective transmission, on equal terms, of
information and news reports as well as works of literature and art;
the qualitative level of programs shall be assured in consideration
of their social mission and the cultural development of the country.
Article 16
1. Art and science, research and teaching shall be free and their development
and promotion shall be an obligation of the State. Academic freedom
and freedom of teaching shall not exempt anyone from his duty of allegiance
to the Constitution.
2. Education constitutes a basic mission for the State and shall aim
at the moral, intellectual, professional and physical training of Greeks,
the development of national and religious consciousness and at their
formation as free and responsible citizens.
3. The number of years of compulsory education shall be no less than
nine.
4. All Greeks are entitled to free education on all levels at State
educational institutions. The State shall provide financial assistance
to those who distinguish themselves, as well as to students in need
of assistance or special protection, in accordance with their abilities.
5. Education at university level shall be provided exclusively by institutions
which are fully self-governed public law legal persons. These institutions
shall operate under the supervision of the State and are entitled to
financial assistance from it; they shall operate on the basis of statutorily
enacted by-laws. Merging or splitting of university level institutions
may take place notwithstanding any contrary provisions, as a law shall
provide.
A special law shall define all matters pertaining to student associations
and the participation of students therein. 6. Professors of university
level institutions shall be public functionaries. The remaining teaching
personnel likewise perform a public function, under the conditions specified
by law. The statutes of respective institutions shall define matters
relating to the status of all the above.
Professors of university level institutions shall not be dismissed prior
to the lawful termination of their term of service, except in the cases
of the substantive conditions provided by article 88 paragraph 4 and
following a decision by a council constituted in its majority of highest
judicial functionaries, as specified by law.
The retirement age of professors of university level institutions shall
be determined by law; until such law is issued, professors on active
service shall retire ipso jure at the end of the academic year at which
they have reached the age of sixty-seven.
7. Professional and any other form of special education shall be provided
by the State, through schools of a higher level and for a time period
not exceeding three years, as specifically provided by law which also
defines the professional rights of the graduates of such schools.
8. The conditions and terms for granting a license for the establishment
and operation of schools not owned by the State, the supervision of
such and the professional status of teaching personnel therein shall
be specified by law.
The establishment of university level institutions by private persons
is prohibited.
9. Athletics shall be under the protection and the ultimate supervision
of the State.
The State shall make grants to and shall control all types of athletic
associations, as specified by law. The use of grants in accordance with
the purpose of the associations receiving them shall also be specified
by law.
Article 17
1. Property is under the protection of the State; rights deriving therefrom,
however, may not be exercised contrary to the public interest.
2. No one shall be deprived of his property except for public benefit
which must be duly proven, when and as specified by statute and always
following full compensation corresponding to the value of the expropriated
property at the time of the court hearing on the provisional determination
of compensation. In cases in which a request for the final determination
of compensation is made, the value at the time of the court hearing
of the request shall be considered.
3. Any change in the value of expropriated property occurring after
publication of the act of expropriation and resulting exclusively therefrom
shall not be taken into account.
4. Compensation shall in all cases be determined by civil courts. Such
compensation may also be determined provisionally by the court after
hearing or summoning the beneficiary, who may be obliged, at the discretion
of the court, to furnish a commensurate guarantee for collecting the
compensation as provided by law.
Prior to payment of the final or provisional compensation determined
by the court, all rights of the owner shall be maintained intact and
occupation of the property shall not be allowed.
Compensation in the amount determined by the court must in all cases
be paid within one and one half years at the latest from the date of
publication of the decision regarding provisional determination of compensation
payable, and in cases of a direct request for the final determination
of compensation, from the date of publication of the court ruling, otherwise
the expropriation shall be revoked ipso jure.
The compensation as such is exempt from any taxes, deductions or fees.
5. The cases in which compulsory compensation shall be paid to the beneficiaries
for lost income from expropriated property until the time of payment
of the compensation shall be specified by law.
6. In the case of execution of works serving the public benefit or being
of a general importance to the economy of the country, a law may allow
the expropriation in favor of the State of wider zones beyond the areas
necessary for the execution of the works. The said law shall specify
the conditions and terms of such expropriation, as well as the matters
pertaining to the disposal for public or public utility purposes in
general, of areas expropriated in excess of those required.
7. The digging of underground tunnels at the appropriate depth without
compensation, may be allowed by law for the execution of works of evident
public utility for the State, public law legal persons, local government
agencies, public utility agencies and public enterprises, on condition
that the normal exploitation of the property situated above shall not
be hindered.
Article 18
1. The ownership and disposal of mines, quarries, caves, archaeological
sites and treasures, mineral, running and underground waters and underground
resources in general, shall be regulated by special laws.
2. The ownership, exploitation and administration of lagoons and large
lakes, as well as the general disposal of areas resulting from the draining
of such, shall be regulated by law.
3. Requisitions of property for the needs of the armed forces in case
of war or mobilization, or for the purpose of facing an immediate social
emergency that may endanger public order or health, shall be regulated
by special laws.
4. The redistribution of agricultural areas for the purpose of exploiting
the land more profitably, as well as the adoption of measures to prevent
excessive parceling or to facilitate restructuring of small parceled
farm holdings, shall be allowed in accordance with the procedure specified
by special law.
5. In addition to the cases specified in the preceding paragraphs, the
law may provide for other necessary deprivations of the free use and
enjoyment of property, owing to special circumstances. The law shall
specify the obligor and the procedure of payment to the person entitled
to compensation for the use or enjoyment, which must be commensurate
to the conditions present on each occasion.
Measures imposed in accordance with this paragraph shall be lifted as
soon as the special reasons that necessitated them cease to exist. In
case of undue prolongation of the measures, the Supreme Administrative
Court shall decide on their revocation, by categories of cases, upon
recourse by any person having a legitimate interest.
6. A law may regulate the disposal of abandoned lands for the purpose
of revalorizing them to the benefit of the national economy and the
rehabilitation of destitute farmers. The same law shall provide for
the matters of partial or full compensation of owners, in case of their
reappearance within a reasonable time limit.
7. Compulsory joint ownership of adjoining properties in urban areas
may be introduced by law, if independent rebuilding on the said properties
or some of them does not conform with the applicable or prospective
building regulations in the area.
8. Farmlands belonging to the Patriarchal Monasteries of Aghia Anastasia
Pharmacolytria in Chalkidiki, of Vlatadhes in Thessaloniki and Ioannis
the Evangelist Theologos in Patmos, with the exception of the dependencies
thereof, cannot be subject to expropriation. Likewise the property in
Greece of the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antiocheia and Jerusalem
and that of the Holy Monastery of Mount Sinai cannot be subject to expropriation.
Article 19
Secrecy of letters and all other forms of free correspondence or communication
shall be absolutely inviolable. The guaranties under which the judicial
authority shall not be bound by this secrecy for reasons of national
security or for the purpose of investigating especially serious crimes,
shall be specified by law.
Article 20
1. Every person shall be entitled to receive legal protection by the
courts and may plead before them his views concerning his rights or
interests, as specified by law.
2. The right of a person to a prior hearing also applies in any administrative
action or measure adopted at the expense of his rights or interests.
Article 21
1. The family, being the cornerstone of the preservation and the advancement
of the Nation, as well as marriage, motherhood and childhood, shall
be under the protection of the State.
2. Families with many children, disabled war and peace-time veterans,
war victims, widows and orphans, as well as persons suffering from incurable
bodily or mental ailments are entitled to the special care of the State.
3. The State shall care for the health of citizens and shall adopt special
measures for the protection of youth, old age, disability and for the
relief of the needy.
4. The acquisition of a home by the homeless or those inadequately sheltered
shall constitute an object of special State care.
Article 22
1. Work constitutes a right and shall enjoy the protection of the State,
which shall seek to create conditions of employment for all citizens
and shall pursue the moral and material advancement of the rural and
urban working population.
All workers, irrespective of sex or other distinctions, shall be entitled
to equal pay for work of equal value.
2. General working conditions shall be determined by law, supplemented
by collective labor agreements contracted through free negotiations
and, in case of the failure of such, by rules determined by arbitration.
3. Any form of compulsory work is prohibited.
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.
4. The State shall care for the social security of the working people,
as specified by law.
Interpretative clause:
The general working conditions include the definition of the manner
of collection and the agent obliged to collect and return to trade unions
membership fees, specified in their respective by-laws.
Article 23
1. The State shall adopt due measures safeguarding the freedom to unionize
and the unhindered exercise of related rights against any infringement
thereon within the limits of the law.
2. Strike constitutes a right to be exercised by lawfully established
trade unions in order to protect and promote the financial and the general
labor interests of working people.
Strikes of any nature whatsoever are prohibited in the case of judicial
functionaries and those serving in the security corps. The right to
strike shall be subject to the specific limitations of the law regulating
this right in the case of public servants and employees of local government
agencies and of public law legal persons as well as in the case of the
employees of all types of enterprises of a public nature or of public
benefit, the operation of which is of vital importance in serving the
basic needs of the society as a whole. These limitations may not be
carried to the point of abolishing the right to strike or hindering
the lawful exercise thereof.
Article 24
1. The protection of the natural and cultural environment constitutes
a duty of the State. The State is bound to adopt special preventive
or repressive measures for the preservation of the environment. Matters
pertaining to the protection of forests and forest expanses in general
shall be regulated by law. Alteration of the use of state forests and
state forest expanses is prohibited, except where agricultural development
or other uses imposed for the public interest prevail for the benefit
of the national economy.
2. The master plan of the country, and the arrangement, development,
urbanization and expansion of towns and residential areas in general,
shall be under the regulatory authority and the control of the State,
in the aim of serving the functionality and the development of settlements
and of securing the best possible living conditions.
3. For the purpose of designating an area as residential and of activating
its urbanization, properties included therein must participate, without
compensation from the respective agencies, in the disposal of land necessary
for the construction of roads, squares and public utility areas in general,
and contribute toward the expenses for the execution of the basic public
urban works, as specified by law.
4. The law may provide for the participation of property owners of an
area designated as residential in the development and general accommodation
of that area, on the basis of an approved town plan, in exchange for
real estate or apartments of equal value in the parts of such areas
that shall finally be designated as suitable for construction or in
buildings of the same area.
5. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall also be applicable
in the rehabilitation of existing residential areas. Spaces remaining
free after rehabilitation shall be allotted to the creation of common
utility areas or shall be sold to cover expenses incurred for the rehabilitation,
as specified by law. 6. Monuments and historic areas and elements shall
be under the protection of the State. A law shall provide for measures
restrictive of private ownership deemed necessary for protection thereof,
as well as for the manner and the kind of compensation payable to owners.
Article 25
1. The rights of man as an individual and as a member of the society
are guaranteed by the State and all agents of the State shall be obliged
to ensure the unhindered exercise thereof.
2. The recognition and protection of the fundamental and inalienable
rights of man by the State aims at the achievement of social progress
in freedom and justice.
3. The abusive exercise of rights is not permitted.
4. The State has the right to claim of all citizens to fulfill the duty
of social and national solidarity.