The government is ratcheting up the rhetoric against judicial rulings after the Council of State decided to annul in its entirety a joint ministerial decision that judges and other professional groups must file a declaration detailing their real estate and other assets.

The clash between the government and the judiciary is taking on the characteristics of a vendetta that could spiral out of control, undermining the separation of powers with disastrous consequences for the smooth operation of the state.

It is indicative that the prime minister’s office chose to leak a message that it supposedly sent to judges: “Let us see who in the end will tire out first.”

Assets declaration procedures illegal

The high court, debating a petition submitted by judges’ unions, threw out the joint decision of Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Alternate Justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos requiring the declaration.

The court found illegal the requirement to declare cash holdings of over 15,000 euros outside of banks and moveable objects with a value over 30,000 euros (e.g. jewelry, art, etc.), the absence of a specific timeframe for the audits and the lack of precautions to protect private data, the obligation to declare all one’s assets annually, regardless of whether they were acquired in the previous fiscal year or earlier, the obligation to declare the assets of individuals with whom one has signed a domestic partnership agreement.

Kontonis attacks judges, again

Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the budget on 18 December, Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis said that the judges are “mocking society”, due to their alleged refusal to have their assets audited as all other citizens do.

“The government fervently seeks dialogue with everyone, but above all it places democracy and equal justice under the law,” the minister declared.

Judges lash out

The remarks came on the heels of a resolution passed by judges’ associations from around the country which warned against an international trend of limiting judicial independence and violating the separation of powers.

The president and secretary of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors have described the perceived governmental attempts at intervening rhetorically in the judicial process as an “unprecedented situation”.

A resolution passed by the Association of Prosecutors lambasted government criticism of court rulings.

“Exercising public criticism of judicial rulings when it aims at manipulation of the judiciary, just as any intervention with that objective, does not promote the principles of rule of law and bears witness to an ailing democracy,” the resolution stated.

Aside from the ruling on declarations of assets, the government is extremely concerned about how the judiciary will handle challenges to provisions of the bailout memorandum signed by the government, as Greece’s return to the markets and prospective debt relief negotiations are contingent upon faithful implementation of the current bailout programme.

Aimilios Perdikaris, Mina Moustaka

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