GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Anastasios Virvilios, Evangelia Sgountzou and Eirini Tsalapati, Machas & Partners
Substantive disputes will be assigned to the ordi - nary administrative courts (Administrative Courts of First Instance and Administrative Courts of Appeal), except for substantive administrative disputes, which the Constitution itself or the law assigns to the Council of State or other courts.
and legal persons under public law. In providing for the annulment of acts of the administrative authorities by means of an application for annul - ment, the Constitution excludes the possibility of an application for annulment being brought against legislative acts and against provisions of a formal law of a regulatory nature in particular. Consequently, in the Greek procedural system, no one may directly challenge a formal law or primary legislation. In addition, there is no Con - stitutional Court in the Greek legal system. However, the constitutionality of a provision of a formal law (primary legislation) may be reviewed in an incidental manner. This court authority derives from an express provision in the Con - stitution and means the courts must not apply a law whose content is contrary to the Consti - tution. The incidental review of constitutionality can therefore be carried out by any court at any level (diffused constitutional review). If, in the context of the incidental constitutional review, the law is found to be unconstitutional, then it is not applied in the specific case, but this inapplicability does not mean it is abolished, as under Greek law, court decisions do not consti - tute a source of law. 3.2 Challenging Secondary Legislation Unlike primary legislation, it is possible to chal - lenge secondary legislation before the admin - istrative courts. In particular, ministerial deci - sions, joint ministerial decisions and Presidential Decrees or other regulatory administrative acts may be challenged by means of an application for annulment before the ordinary administrative courts or the Council of State. The grounds on which these acts may be annulled by the courts are:
2. Target of Challenge 2.1 Determining Susceptibility
In order for an administrative act to be admissi - bly and legally challengeable, it must constitute an enforceable administrative act. Enforceability refers to the binding nature of an administrative act, which does not require a prior court deci - sion. In contrast, non-enforceable acts that are not susceptible to challenge are internal administra - tive acts, informational documents, recommen - dations, opinions, preparatory acts, confirma - tory measures of the administration as well as interim acts leading to the adoption of a final enforceable administrative act. Moreover, formal laws cannot be challenged directly in court. However, the constitutionality of these laws is reviewed as an incidental matter. Furthermore, governmental acts, ie, acts relating to the administration of political power or the operation of government, cannot be challenged in court. 3. Nature of the Decision 3.1 Challenging Primary Legislation In line with Article 95(1)(a) of the Constitution and Article 45(1) of Presidential Decree No 18/1989, an application for annulment may be brought against acts of the administrative authorities
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