Judges seek more court jobs
While acknowledging that the judicial system is plagued by lengthy delays that border on denying citizens justice, Greek prosecutors and judges meeting in Athens on Saturday insisted that the government should delay the implementation of a new law to speed up trials until it has dealt with staff shortages and poor facilities. It is a common observation that there are excessive delays in the administration of justice in both civil and criminal cases, the union of judges and prosecutors said in a resolution. The country’s economic growth and rising crime rate, plus the fact that for 15 years no infrastructure improvements have been made to enable the judiciary to meet these increased demands are the reason for this. The union called for a nine-month postponement of a new law speeding up trials, until more staff have been hired in the judiciary and in the administrative sector, and the number of premises increased. But Justice Minister Filippos Petsalnikos said the law would go into effect as scheduled on January 7. The union will hold a strike on January 31 and February 28. And, incredibly, the money was forgotten.
