GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Anastasios Virvilios, Evangelia Sgountzou and Eirini Tsalapati, Machas & Partners
the event that these are challenged before the court with a request for annulment, the court may annul/eliminate them in whole or in part. 13.3 Mandating Government Action Through Court Orders According to Article 95(5) of the Constitution, the administration has an obligation to comply with court decisions. Their compliance consti - tutes the most important aspect of the principle of legality and the rule of law. The legal obliga - tion of the administrative bodies to comply with court decisions stems directly from the funda - mental principle of the rule of law and the con - stitutional separation of functions principle. The obligation is complementary to the constitutional enshrinement of the application for annulment as the general remedy against illegal administra - tive acts as well as the judicial “legal protection” of the administered person guaranteed by Article 20(1)(c) of the Constitution. The provision of Article 95(5) of the Constitution extends this compliance obligation to the deci - sions of all courts regardless of jurisdiction. This rule is general and absolute and is not subject to the reservation of law. Furthermore, the violation of the obligation to comply with judicial decisions creates liability for each body responsible for compliance. The Three-Member Council of the relevant branch is the competent body for the control of the com - pliance of the administration with court deci - sions under Law 3068/2002. 13.4 Next Steps Where a Decision Is Found Unlawful In annulment proceedings, if the contested administrative act/decision is found to be illegal in whole or in part, the court annuls the act in whole or in part. The annulment decision has
a transformative effect and shapes the legal relationship, eliminating the contested act with respect to everyone involved. The operative part of the decision to annul develops force erga omnes in line with Article 50(1) of Presidential Decree 18/1989, in contrast to all other elements of the judicial decision (reasoning, rejection order) which only create a binding force in the form of res judicata between the parties. The same applies to substantive proceedings. However, the substantive court may annul the administrative act in whole or in part or choose to amend it. In cases of annulment of the contested act, the court refers the matter to the administration in order to proceed with the legal actions. 14. Costs 14.1 Mechanisms to Protect Claimants From Excessive Costs There are mechanisms in place to protect inter - ested parties from the excessive costs of appeal - ing to administrative courts. In particular, the CAP enshrines the principle of legal aid, which can be provided to citizens with low incomes when administrative cases are being handled. At the same time, in annulment disputes, the par - ty exercising the legal remedy may be exempted from the obligation to pay fees and charges, if, in the opinion of the court, there are likely grounds of poverty. In substantive disputes, the party may be exempted from the advance payment of the court stamp duty and the fee, if it is proven that this advance payment creates a risk of prevent -
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