Protesting judges to close courts
Judges and prosecutors said yesterday that they would close down courts around Greece for two hours on April 20 and 21 in protest at the media coverage of recent corruption scandals in the judiciary and the proposal for the mass transfer of judges. The Judges and Prosecutors’ Union, which held an extraordinary meeting over the weekend, decided on two work stoppages from noon until 2 p.m. after members objected to long-serving judges being switched around in the interest of transparency. Supreme Court President Giorgos Kapos said last month that judges who had served for a long time in Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa and Iraklion would be transferred so there could be no doubts about their «objectivity and impartiality.» Unionists also voiced complaints about the media’s coverage of corruption allegations against members of the judiciary and expressed concern at the recent tendency for judges and prosecutors who have faced claims of wrongdoing to be hauled before the Supreme Court immediately and face dismissal, rather than pass through disciplinary councils.
