GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Anastasios Virvilios, Evangelia Sgountzou and Eirini Tsalapati, Machas & Partners
annulment and constitutes a breach of a provi - sion of law in substance, in particular. 10.7 Unequal Treatment From a legal perspective, equality is a general principle and an individual right. Article 4(1) of the Constitution states that: “Greek citizens are equal before the law” . This establishes a legal rule that requires the equal treatment of persons in the same or similar circumstances. Equality is not a formality, but proportional, in the sense of equal treatment of similar cases and dissimilar treatment of dissimilar cases, as has also been held by the settled case law of the Court of Jus - tice of the European Union. Different treatment is warranted if it is based on an objective and reasonable criterion. This is to say, if it is related to an objective which is legiti - mately pursued by the legislation in question, and the difference is proportionate to the objec - tive pursued by the treatment in question. In terms of procedural law, judicial review of the principle of equality is a review of the limits and not of the fairness of legislative choices. It is a review of whether there is manifestly unequal treatment of persons in the same or similar cir - cumstances or arbitrary assimilation of persons in different circumstances. An administrative act or decision adopted in breach of the principle of equal treatment (prin - ciple of equality) may be subject to review before
Greece ratified the ECHR (Law 2329/1953). His - torically, there was a gap in the implementation of the ECHR by Greece. Greece withdrew from the Council of Europe in December 1969. It re- entered the Council of Europe with the restora - tion of democratic legitimacy in 1974 and had to re-ratify the ECHR which it did by Law Decree 53/19.9.1974. Bearing in mind that the ECHR has been ratified by the Greek legislature, an administrative act issued in violation of the relevant provisions of the ECHR can be annulled by the court on the ground of violation of a substantive provision of law. Of course, any individual, group of individuals or NGO which considers that its rights under the ECHR have been violated by a member state and which has exhausted all domestic remedies may appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The ECtHR has jurisdiction to award “fair compensation” where a violation of ECHR provisions is found to have occurred. 10.9 Proportionality The principle of proportionality is constitution - ally protected. In particular, this principle is enshrined in Article 25(1) of the Constitution. The Constitution enshrines proportionality as a general limitation of restrictions on fundamental constitutional rights. More specific manifesta - tions of the principle of proportionality are the principle of appropriateness, the principle of necessity and stricto sensu proportionality. According to the principle of appropriateness, the restriction imposed must be appropriate to the result sought, while according to the princi - ple of necessity it must be necessary to achieve the objective pursued. In the strict sense of pro - portionality, the restriction must not be more
the competent court. 10.8 Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. It entered into force on 3 September 1953. In the same year
161 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook