The state fails to implement the law
It’s often said that Greece needs only one law: a law that will ensure compliance with all other laws. Unfortunately, the same goes for court rulings, particularly of the higher courts, which are, paradoxically, overturned by lower, administrative courts. The ongoing controversy over the two illegal quarries in Markopoulo, east of Athens, would be ridiculous if it were not so serious. Their continued operation is a constant insult to the local administration, the rule of law and justice. The administrative confusion allows the legal overruling of otherwise final court verdicts. As a result, some people are smiling gleefully, if not laughing, at the expense of the country’s institutions. Even more, however, are saddened by the developments. It is not just the health hazards caused by the operation of the quarries in the area. It is also that the implementation of the law is caught up in complex bureaucratic procedures as people feel powerless against invisible interests that stand above the Council of State.
