ABTTF President: “It is unacceptable that, in our country which constantly claims to be the cradle of democracy, the majority of the population believes that their rights are not protected by the law and the courts. This clearly amounts to the collapse of the judiciary in our country, and in a country without an independent judiciary, one cannot talk about democracy’’.
According to a Flash Eurobarometer public opinion survey conducted by the European Commission across the 27 EU Member States, approximately 6 out of every 10 people in Greece believe that the country’s judicial system is not independent. Consequently, public dissatisfaction with the judiciary in Greece is among the highest levels across EU Member States.
The survey results show that 61 percent of Greeks believe that, should they face a legal problem in their country, their rights would not be protected by the law or the courts; they note that their main concerns regarding the protection of their rights are that court cases take far too long to be resolved, that the independence of judges is not sufficiently safeguarded, and that court rulings are not always enforced as they should be.
“The results of the Eurobarometer public opinion survey serve as a serious warning to all institutional actors in our country, Greece—particularly the government and the judiciary—and have once again confirmed the erosion of the rule of law. The legal proceedings surrounding the Tempi train crash and illegal telephone tapping, alongside the corruption in the management of EU funds and the investigations into these matters being conducted by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, have deeply shaken the public’s confidence in an independent judiciary in our country. It is unacceptable that, in our country which constantly claims to be the cradle of democracy, the majority of the population believes that their rights are not protected by the law and the courts This clearly amounts to the collapse of the judiciary in our country, and in a country without an independent judiciary, one cannot talk about democracy. The government must urgently take the necessary steps to restore public confidence in the judiciary and to re-establish the rule of law – one of the EU’s most fundamental principles – in our country and must listen to the voice of the people”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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