THE CONSTITUTION OF GREECE
In the name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity
PART THREE ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE
SECTION I STRUCTURE OF THE STATE
Article 26
1. The legislative powers shall be exercised by the Parliament and the Presidents of the Republic.
2. The executive powers shall be exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government.
3. The judicial powers shall be exercised by courts of law, the decisions of which shall be executed in the name of the Greek People.
Article 27
1. No change in the boundaries of the Country can be made without a statute passed by an absolute majority of the total number of Members of Parliament.
2. Foreign military forces are not acceptable on Greek territory, nor may they remain in or traverse it, except as provided by law passed by an absolute majority of the total number of Members of Parliament.
Article 28
1. The generally recognised rules of international law, as well as international conventions as of the time they are sanctioned by statute and become operative according to their respective conditions, shall be an integral part of domestic Greek law and shall prevail over any contrary provision of the law. The rules of international law and of international conventions shall be applicable to aliens only under the condition of reciprocity.
2. Authorities provided by the Constitution may by treaty or agreement be vested in agencies of international organizations, when this serves an important national interest and promotes cooperation with other States. A majority of three-fifths of the total number of Members of Parliament shall be necessary to vote the law anctioning the treaty or agreement.
3. Greece shall freely proceed by law passed by an absolute majority of the total number of Members of Parliament to limit the exercise of national sovereignty, insofar as this is dictated by an important national interest, does not infringe upon the rights of man and the foundations of democratic government and is effected on the basis of the principles of equality and under the condition of reciprocity.
Article 29
1. Greek citizens possessing the right to vote may freely found and join political parties, the organization and activity of which must serve the free functioning of democratic government.
Citizens who have not yet acquired the right to vote may participate in youth sections of parties.
2. The financial support of parties by the State and the publicity of electoral expenses of parties and parliamentary candidates may be provided by law.
3. Manifestations of any nature whatsoever in favour of political parties by judicial functionaries, the military in general, members of the security corps and public servants, as well as the active support in favour of a party by employees of public law legal persons, public enterprises and local government agencies are absolutely prohibited.
SECTION II THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Article 30
1. The President of the Republic shall regulate the function of the institutions of the Republic. He shall be elected by Parliament for a term of five years, as specified in articles 32 and 33.
2. The office of the President shall be incompatible with any other office, position or function.
3. The presidential tenure commences upon the swearing-in of the President.
4. In case of war, the presidential tenure shall be extended until termination of the war.
5. Re-election of the same person as President is permitted only once.
Article 31
To be eligible for election to the presidency, a person must be a Greek citizen for at least five years, be of Greek descendence from the father's line, have attained the age of forty and be legally entitled
to vote.
Article 32
* 1. The President of the Republic shall be elected by the Parliament through vote by roll call in a special session called for this purpose by the Speaker at least one month before the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent President, as specified by the Standing Orders.
In case of permanent incapacity of the President of the Republic to discharge his duties, as specified in paragraph 2 of article 34, as well as in case of his esignation, death, or removal from office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, Parliament shall be assembled to elect a new President within ten days at the latest from the premature termination of the tenure of office by the previous President.
2. In all cases, the election of a President shall be made for a full term.
3. The person receiving a two-thirds majority of the total number of Members of Parliament shall be elected President of the Republic.
Should the said majority not be attained, the ballot shall be repeated after five days.
Should the second ballot fail to produce the required majority, the ballot shall once more be repeated after five days; the person receiving a three-fifths majority of the total number of Members of Parliament shall be elected President of the Republic.
* 4. Should the third ballot fail to produce the said qualified majority, Parliament shall be dissolved within ten days of the ballot, and elections for a new Parliament shall be called.
As soon as the Parliament thus elected shall have constituted itself as a body, it shall proceed through vote by roll call to elect the president of the Republic by a three-fifths majority of the total number of Members of Parliament.
Should the said majority not be attained, the ballot shall be repeated within five days and the person receiving an absolute majority of the votes of the total number of Members of Parliament shall be elected President of the Republic. Should this majority also not be attained, the ballot shall once more be repeated after five days between the two persons with the highest number of votes, and the person receiving a relative majority shall be deemed elected President of the Republic.
5. Should the Parliament be absent, a special session shall be convoked to elect the President of the Republic, as specified in paragraph 4.
If the Parliament has been dissolved in any way whatsoever, the election of the President of the Republic shall be postponed until the new Parliament shall have constituted itself as a body and within twenty days at the latest thereof, as specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 and in adherence with the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 34.
6. Should the procedure specified under the preceding paragraphs for the election of a new President not be completed in time, the incumbent President of the Republic shall continue to discharge his duties even after his term of office has expired, until a new President of the Republic is elected.
Interpretative clause:
A President of the Republic who has resigned prior to the expiration of his tenure may not be a candidate in the elections resulting from his resignation.
Article 33
1. The President-elect shall assume the exercise of his duties on the day following the expiration of the term of the outgoing President or, in all other cases, on the day following his election.
2. Before assuming the exercise of his duties, the President of the Republic shall take the following oath before Parliament:
"I do swear in the name of the Holy and consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity to safeguard the Constitution and the laws, to care for the faithful observance thereof, to defend the national independence and territorial integrity of the Country, to protect the rights and liberties of the Greeks and to serve the general interest and the progress of the Greek People".
3. A statute shall provide for the civil list of the President of the Republic and the functioning of services necessary for the discharge of his duties.
Article 34
1. Should the President of the Republic be absent abroad for more than ten days, or be deceased or resign or be removed from office or be incapable on any ground for the discharge of his duties, he shall be temporarily replaced by the Speaker of the Parliament; or if there is no Parliament, by the Speaker of the preceding Parliament and, should the latter refuse or not exist, by the Cabinet collectively.
During the term of replacement of the President, the provisions concerning the dissolution of Parliament, except in the case specified in article 32 paragraph 4, as well as the provisions relating to the dismissal of the Cabinet and recourse to a referendum as specified in article 38 paragraph 2 and article 44 para-graph 2, shall not be applicable.
2. Should the incapacity of the President of the Republic to discharge his duties be prolonged for a period exceeding thirty days, the Parliament is mandatorily convoked even if it has been dissolved, for the purpose of deciding, by a three-fifths majority of the total number of its members, if the situation calls for the election of a new President. In no case however may the election of a new President of the Republic be delayed for more than six months from the commencement of his replacement due to his incapacity.
Article 35
* 1. No act of the President of the Republic shall be valid nor be executed unless it has been countersigned by the competent Minister who, by his signature alone shall be rendered responsible, and unless it has been published in the Government Gazette.
If the Cabinet has been relieved of its duties as provided by article 38 paragraph 1, and the Prime Minister fails to counter- sign the relative decree, this shall be signed by the President of the Republic alone.
* 2. By exception, the following acts shall not require countersignature:
a) The appointment of the Prime Minister.
b) The assignment of an exploratory mandate in accordance with article 37, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.
c) The dissolution of the Parliament in accordance with articles 32 paragraph 4, and 41 paragraph 1, if the Prime Minister fails to countersign, and in accordance with article 53 paragraph 1 if the Cabinet fails to countersign.
d) The return to Parliament of a voted Bill or law proposal in accordance with article 42 paragraph 1.
e) The staff appointments to the administrative services of the Presidency of the Republic.
* 3. The decree to proclaim a referendum on a Bill, as provided by article 44 paragraph 2, shall be countersigned by the Speaker of the Parliament.
Article 36
1. The President of the Republic, complying absolutely with the provisions of article 35 paragraph 1, shall represent the State internationally, declare war, conclude treaties of peace, alliance, economic cooperation and participation in international organizations or unions and he shall announce them to the Parliament with the necessary clarifications, whenever the interest and the security of the State thus allow.
2. Conventions on trade, taxation, economic cooperation and participation in international organizations or unions and all others containing concessions for which, according to other provisions of this Constitution, no provision can be made without a statute, or which may burden the Greeks individually, shall not be operative without ratification by a statute voted by the Parliament.
3. Secret articles of an agreement may in no case reverse the open ones.
4. The ratification of international treaties may not be the object of delegation of legislative power as specified in article 43 paragraphs 2 and 4.
Article 37
1. The President of the Republic shall appoint the Prime Minister and on his recommendation shall appoint and dismiss the other members of the Cabinet and the Undersecretaries.
* 2. The leader of the party having the absolute majority of seats in Parliament shall be appointed Prime Minister. If no party has the absolute majority, the President of the Republic shall give the leader of the party with a relative majority an exploratory mandate in order to ascertain the possibility of forming a Government enjoying the confidence of the Parliament.
* 3. If this possibility cannot be ascertained, the President of the Republic shall give the exploratory mandate to the leader of the second largest party in Parliament, and if this proves to be unsuccessful, to the leader of the third largest party in Parliament. Each exploratory mandate shall be in force for three days. If all exploratory mandates prove to be unsuccessful, the President of the Republic summons all party leaders, and if the impossibility to form a Cabinet enjoying the confidence of the Parliament is confirmed, he shall attempt to form a Cabinet composed of all parties in Parliament for the purpose of holding parliamentary elections. If this fails, he shall entrust the President of the Supreme Administrative Court or of the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court or of the Court of Auditors to form a Cabinet as widely accepted as possible to carry out elections and dissolves Parliament.
* 4. In cases that a mandate to form a Cabinet or an exploratory mandate is given in accordance with the aforementioned paragraphs, if the party has no leader or party spokesman, or if the leader or party spokesman has not been elected to Parliament, the President of the Republic shall give the mandate to a person proposed by the party's parliamentary group. The proposal for the assignment of a mandate must occur within three days of the Speaker's or his Deputy's communication to the President of the Republic about the number of seats possessed by each party in Parliament; the aforesaid communication must take place before any mandate is given.
*Interpretative clause:
As far as exploratory mandates are concerned, when parties have an equal number of seats in Parliament, the one having acquired more votes at the elections, precedes the other. A recently formed party with a parliamentary group, as provided by the Standing Orders of Parliament, follows an older one with an equal number of seats. In both these instances, exploratory mandates cannot be given to more than four parties.
Article 38
* 1. The President of the Republic shall relieve the Cabinet from its duties if the Cabinet resigns, or if Parliament withdraws its confidence, as specified in article 84. In such cases, the provisions of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of article 37 are analogously applied.
If the Prime Minister of the resigned Cabinet is also the leader or party spokesman of the party with an absolute majority of the total number of Members in Parliament, then the provision of article 37 paragraph 3, section c is analogously applied.
* 2. Should the Prime Minister resign or be deceased, the President of the Republic shall appoint as Prime Minister the person proposed by the parliamentary group of the party to which the former belonged. Such proposal must be submitted within three days at the latest. Until the appointment of the new Prime Minister, the discharge of the Prime Minister's duties is undertaken by the first in order Deputy Prime Minister or Minister.
*Interpretative clause:
The provision of paragraph 2 is also applied in the case of replacement of the President of the Republic, as provided in article 34.
Article 39
* [Repealed by the 1986 Amendment]
Article 40
1. The President of the Republic shall convoke Parliament to a regular session once a year as specified in article 64 paragraph 1 and to an extraordinary session whenever he shall judge this to be reasonable, and he shall proclaim the commencement and termination of each parliamentary term in person or through the Prime Minister.
2. The President of the Republic may suspend a parliamentary session only once, either by postponing its commencement or by adjourning it.
3. Suspension of a session may not be extended beyond a period of thirty days, nor may such suspension be repeated during the same session without the consent of Parliament itself.
Article 42
* 1. The President of the Republic shall promulgate and publish the statutes passed by the Parliament within one month of the vote. The President of the Republic may, within the time-limit provided for in the preceding sentence, send back a Bill passed by Parliament, stating his reasons for this return.
* 2. A Bill sent back to Parliament by the President of the Republic shall be introduced to the Plenum and, if it is passed again by an absolute majority of the total number of members, following the procedure provided in article 76 paragraph 2, the President of the Republic is bound to promulgate and publish it within ten days of the second vote.
* 3. [Paragraph 3 repealed by the 1986 Amendment].
Article 43
1. The President of the Republic shall issue the decrees nec- essary for the execution of statutes; he may never suspend the application of laws nor exempt anyone from their execution.
2. The issuance of general regulatory decrees, by virtue of special delegation granted by statute and within the limits of such delegation, shall be permitted on the proposal of the competent Minister. Delegation for the purpose of issuing regulatory acts by other administrative organs shall be permitted in cases concerning the regulation of more specific matters or matters of local interest or of a technical and detailed nature.
* 3. [Paragraph 3 repealed by the 1986 Amendment].
4. By virtue of statutes passed by the Plenum of the Parliament, delegation may be given for the issuance of general regulatory decrees for the regulation of matters specified by such statutes in a broad framework. These statutes shall set out the general principles and directives of the regulation to be followed and shall set time-limits within which the delegation must be used.
5. Matters which, as specified in article 72 paragraph 1, belong to the competence of the plenary session of the Parliament, cannot be the object of delegation as specified in the preceding paragraph.
Article 44
1. Under extraordinary circumstances of an urgent and unforeseeable need, the President of the Republic may, upon the proposal of the Cabinet, issue acts of legislative content. Such acts shall be submitted to Parliament for ratification, as specified in the provisions of article 72 paragraph 1, within forty days of their issuance or within forty days from the convocation of a parliamentary session. Should such acts not be submitted to Parliament within the above time-limits or if they should not be ratified by Parliament within three months of their submission, they will henceforth cease to be in force.
* 2. The President of the Republic shall by decree proclaim a referendum on crucial national matters following a resolution voted by an absolute majority of the total number of Members of Parliament, taken upon proposal of the Cabinet.
A referendum on Bills passed by Parliament regulating important social matters, with the exception of the fiscal ones shall be proclaimed by decree by the President of the Republic, if this is decided by three-fifths of the total number of its members, following a proposal of two-fifths of the total number of its members, and as the Standing Orders and the law for the application of the present paragraph provide. No more than two proposals to hold a referendum on a Bill can be introduced in the same parliamen- tary term.
Should a Bill be voted, the time-limit stated in article 42 paragraph 1 begins the day the referendum is held.
* 3. The President of the Republic may under exceptional circumstances address messages to the People with the consent opinion of the Prime Minister. Those messages should be countersigned by the Prime Minister and published in the Government Gazette.
Article 45
The President of the Republic is the commander in chief of the Nation's Armed Forces, the command of which shall be exercised by the Government, as specified by law. The President shall also confer ranks on those serving therein, as specified by law.
Article 46
1. The President of the Republic shall appoint and dismiss public servants, in accordance with the law, except in cases spe- cified by law.
2. The President of the Republic shall confer the established decorations in accordance with the provisions of the relevant law.
Article 47
1. The President of the Republic shall have the right, pursuant to a recommendation by the Minister of Justice and after consulting with a council composed in its majority of judges, to grant pardons, to commute or reduce sentences pronounced by the courts, and to revoke all consequences at law of sentences pronounced and served.
2. The President of the Republic shall have the right to grant pardon to a Minister convicted as provided in article 86, only with the consent
of Parliament.
* 3. Amnesty may be granted only for political crimes, by statute passed by the Plenum of the Parliament with a majority of three-fifths of the total number of members.
4. Amnesty for common crimes may not be granted even by law.
Article 48
Article 49
Article 50
* 1. In case of war or mobilization owing to external dangers or an imminent threat against national security, as well as in case of an armed coup aiming to overthrow the democratic regime, the Parliament, issuing a resolution upon a proposal of the Cabinet, puts into effect throughout the State, or in parts there of the sta- tute on the state of siege, establishes extraordinary courts and suspends the force of the provisions of articles 5 paragraph 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 paragraphs 1 to 4 included, 14, 19, 22 paragraph 3, 23, 96 paragraph 4, and 97, in whole or in part. The President of the Republic publishes the resolution of Parliament.
The resolution of Parliament determines the duration of the effect of the imposed measures, which cannot exceed fifteen days.
* 2. If the Parliament is absent or if it is objectively impossible that it be convoked in time, the measures mentioned in the preceding paragraph are taken by presidential decree issued on the proposal of the Cabinet. The Cabinet shall submit the decree to Parliament for approval as soon as its convocation is rendered possible, even when its term has ended or it has been dissolved, and in any case no later than fifteen days.
* 3. The duration of the measures mentioned in the preceding paragraphs may be extended every fifteen days, only upon resolu- tion passed by the Parliament which must be convoked regardless of whether its term has ended or whether it has been dissolved.
* 4. The measures specified in the preceding paragraphs are lifted ipso jure with the expiration of the time-limits specified in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, provided that they are not extended by a resolution of Parliament, and in any case with the termination of war if this was the reason of their imposition.
* 5. From the time that the measures referred to in the previous paragraphs come into effect, the President of the Republic may, following a proposal of the Cabinet, issue acts of legislative content to meet emergencies, or to restore as soon as possible the functioning of the constitutional institutions. Those acts shall be submitted to Parliament for ratification within fifteen days of their issuance or of the convocation of Parliament in session. Should they not be submitted to Parliament within the above-mentioned time-limit, or not be approved by it within fifteen days of their submission, they cease henceforth to be in force. The statute on the state of siege may not be amended during its enforcement.
* 6. The resolutions of Parliament referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be adopted by a majority of the total number of members, and the resolution mentioned in paragraph 1 by a three-fifths majority of the total number of members. Parliament must decide these matters in only one sitting.
* 7. Throughout the duration of the application of the measures of the state of emergency taken in accordance with the present article, the provisions of articles 61 and 62 of the Constitution shall apply ipso jure regardless of whether Parliament has been dissolved or its term has ended.
CHAPTER THREE Special Liabilities of the President of the Republic
1. The President of the Republic shall in no case be held liable for acts performed in the discharge of his duties, except only for high treason or intentional violation of the Constitution. For acts not related to the discharge of his duties, prosecution shall be suspended until the expiration of the presidential term.
2. A proposal to bring charges against and impeach the President of the Republic shall be submitted to Parliament signed by at least one-third of its members and shall require for its adoption a resolution by two-thirds majority of the total number of its members.
3. If the proposal is adopted, the President of the Republic shall be arraigned before the court specified in article 86, the provisions of which shall be accordingly applicable in this case.
4. As of his arraignment, the President of the Republic shall abstain from the discharge of his duties, and shall be replaced as specified in article 34. He shall resume his duties if his term has not expired, as of the issuance of his acquittal by the court specified in article 86.
5. The implementation of the provisions of the present article shall be provided by law enacted by the Parliament in a plenary session.
The President of the Republic shall have no powers other than those explicitly conferred upon him by the Constitution and the laws concurrent herewith.
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