The Amendment of 2001 constituted the most important amendment of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of 1975. The

Amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

of 1986 was much more limited, as it led to the modification of just a few articles concerning the President's powers. The parliamentary procedure inaugurating the process of the Amendment was initiated by the government of

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

and prime minister,

Costas Simitis Konstantinos G. Simitis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; born 23 June 1936), usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis (Κώστας Σημίτης), is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece a ...

, in 1998. Three years later the 7th Revisionary Parliament decided on 83 proposed amendments and rejected only 4 of them.E. Venizelos, ''The Amendment of 2001'', 39 Only 7 of the proposed amendments demanded a majority of 3/5. The 3/5 majority was already achieved for the other 76 proposals during the initial vote before the legislative elections of 2000. The amendment was officially concluded the 17th of April 2001. Some of the most important modifications were the following: * Recognition of new

Constitutional rights A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...

, such as the protection of personal data or the access to the information. * Constitutional recognition of 5 Independent authorities. * Addition of new provisions for the transparency of the operation of

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

. * Constitutional consolidation of the doctrines of Proportionality and Vertical power of human rights. * Provision of stringent preconditions for the modification of the

electoral law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management b ...

. * Prohibition of any professional occupation of the members of the Hellenic Parliament. * Provision of a special organ, which will control any expenditure of the candidates during the elections. * The creation of new consultative organs of the executive branch. * The adoption of a new legislative framework for the criminal prosecution of the members of the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. * The re-organization of the operation of the Parliament through the strengthening of the role of the parliamentary committees. * The adoption of a 4-year term for all the heads of the Supreme Courts. * The adoption of new provisions concerning the constitutional control of laws.

Notes

Further reading