ABTTF President: “The problems regarding the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in our country have now become chronic. It is impossible to speak of the rule of law where there is no justice and where fundamental rights and freedoms are not protected. Undoubtedly, the most striking example of the politicisation of legal cases concerning fundamental rights and freedoms in our country is the failure, for nearly 19 years, to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the violation of the freedom of association of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace.”
According to the results of the Justice Systems Performance Index (JUSPER), published by the Athens-based think tank Centre for Liberal Studies (KEFIM), Greece ranks second from the bottom amongst the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) in terms of the performance of its judicial system.
Scoring 34.8 out of 100, Greece fell well short of the EU average of 52.5.
The study notes that the most significant problem with the judicial system in Greece is the long delays in resolving cases, recording that first-instance civil cases take an average of 737 days to be concluded and that only 81 out of every 100 new cases are resolved.
The study highlights that, although the number of judges in Greece is above the European average, a shortage of support staff, inadequate organisation, shortcomings in digitalisation and difficulties in accessing justice have negatively impacted the effectiveness of the judicial system. It indicates that improving the judicial system is of great importance in terms of protecting citizens’ rights, public trust in institutions and economic development.
“KEFIM’s study has once again clearly confirmed the problems in the general functioning of the judicial system in our country, Greece. According to the EU Justice Scoreboard 2026, published by the European Commission last June, our country once again ranked among the lowest in terms of public trust in the judiciary. The problems regarding the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in our country have now become chronic. It is impossible to speak of the rule of law where there is no justice and where fundamental rights and freedoms are not protected. Undoubtedly, the most striking example of the politicisation of legal cases concerning fundamental rights and freedoms in our country is the failure, for nearly 19 years, to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the violation of the freedom of association of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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