Greece
Prosecution in Greece
The public prosecution (eisangelía) — an independent part of the judiciary staffed by magistrates, not an executive agency; the Ministry of Justice sets only its general service conditions.
Facts verified:
This is a static reference page, not a live feed — check anything you intend to act on with the official source.
Prosecution is conducted by the public prosecutor's offices (εισαγγελίες, eisangelíes), headed by the Prosecutor's Office of Areios Pagos. On the e-Justice portal's account, these offices "belong to the 'judicial branch' of government and participate in the administration of justice", and public prosecutors "enjoy operational and personal independence". Prosecutors are magistrates appointed for life by presidential decree (Article 88), with the functional and personal independence of Article 87.
How this system compares with others on five structural questions about the prosecution service is set out in who prosecutes, and where they sit.
The same idea, explained generally
- What does a prosecutor do?
A prosecutor decides whether a criminal case should be brought, on what charges, and presents it in court. This guide explains the tests applied, the duties owed, and how the role differs between systems.
- Why do justice systems need oversight?
Justice institutions hold coercive powers, often operate out of public view, and make decisions that are hard to reverse. This guide explains the oversight mechanisms built to detect and correct errors, and their limits.
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). This is an UNOFFICIAL translation — the Hellenic Parliament's own official English translation returned HTTP 403 and was not read — 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).
Types of legal professions — 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 legal professions, read directly and re-confirmed. Supports that "public prosecutor's offices (eisangelíes) belong to the 'judicial branch' of government and participate in the administration of justice" and that "public prosecutors (eisangeleís) enjoy operational and personal independence"; that a prosecutor's duties include initiating criminal proceedings, supervising investigations, carrying out preliminary investigations, and supervising the law-enforcement authorities; and that "the Ministry of Justice is responsible for public prosecutors' general conditions of service" (service conditions only, not the direction of prosecutorial decisions).