Greece
Courts in Greece
Three co-equal supreme courts — Areios Pagos, the Council of State, and the Court of Audit — with diffuse constitutional review and a conflict-resolving special court, and no dedicated constitutional court.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
Greece has three co-equal supreme courts, each final in its own domain. The e-Justice portal states that the Council of State "is one of the three highest courts in Greece (together with the Supreme Court and the Hellenic Court of Auditors)".
- Άρειος Πάγος (Áreios Págos, "Areios Pagos")
- The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court — the court of cassation for civil and criminal matters, at the apex of the ordinary courts (courts of appeal, courts of first instance, and the constitutionally required mixed jury courts for felonies).
- Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας (Symvoúlio tis Epikrateías, "Council of State")
- The Supreme Administrative Court (Article 95) — the apex of the administrative courts, with jurisdiction over the annulment of unlawful administrative acts.
- Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο (Elegktikó Synédrio, "Court of Audit")
- The court for public finance (Article 98) — auditing State expenditure and accountable officials, and deciding related disputes. Its judgments in those matters are not subject to the Council of State (Article 98§3), so it is a genuine co-equal apex, not a subordinate court.
The same idea, explained generally
- What do courts do?
Courts resolve disputes, test the state’s case against individuals, interpret law, and review public decisions. This guide explains those functions and why judicial independence is structural.
- What is due process?
Due process is the requirement that the state follow fair, established procedures before it takes action against a person. This guide explains what it typically includes and how it differs between systems.
Sources
Sources
Constitution of Greece (1975, as amended through 2008) — English translation
Comparative Constitutions Project (Constitute) · Legislation · 1975-06-11 · link verified 2026-07-26
The Comparative Constitutions Project (Constitute) English translation of the Greek Constitution (in force 11 June 1975, as amended through 2008), fetched as a PDF and text-extracted; load-bearing articles confirmed verbatim (Art. 93§4 and Art. 105 re-confirmed by hand at authoring time). This is an UNOFFICIAL translation — the Hellenic Parliament's own official English PDF returned HTTP 403 — so it is cross-checked against the current EU e-Justice portal, and the Greek text is authoritative. Supports Art. 26 (separation of powers); Art. 87–88 (judicial and prosecutorial independence, life appointment of magistrates by presidential decree); Art. 93§4 ("The courts shall be bound not to apply a statute whose content is contrary to the Constitution" — diffuse constitutional review); Art. 94–95 (the administrative courts and the Council of State as Supreme Administrative Court); Art. 96–97 (criminal, jury and military courts); Art. 98 (the Court of Audit, whose judgments are not subject to the Supreme Administrative Court — a co-equal apex); Art. 100 (the Special Highest Court — a conflict-resolving court, not a standing constitutional court); Art. 101–102 (unitary decentralisation); Art. 103§9 (the Ombudsman as an independent authority); and Art. 105 (Mount Athos as a self-governed part of the Greek State, with the State exclusively responsible for public order and security).
National ordinary courts — Greece (European e-Justice Portal)
European Commission (European e-Justice Portal) · International organisation · link verified 2026-07-26
The European Commission's e-Justice portal page on Greece's ordinary courts (content provided by Greece, updated 14 June 2024), read directly and re-confirmed. Supports the statement that "the Council of State (Symvoúlio tis Epikrateías) is one of the three highest courts in Greece (together with the Supreme Court and the Hellenic Court of Auditors (Elegktikó Synédrio))" — establishing the three co-equal supreme courts and confirming that the hierarchy contains no separate constitutional court — and enumerates the civil, criminal and administrative court ladders below them.