Greek constitutional amendment of 2008
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In early 2006,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Kostas Karamanlis Konstantinos A. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής; born 14 September 1956), commonly known as Kostas Karamanlis ( el, Κώστας Καραμανλής, ), is a Greek politician who served as the ...
of the
New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...
party proposed an amendment to the
Greek Constitution The Constitution of Greece ( el, Σύνταγμα της Ελλάδας, Syntagma tis Elladas) was created by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes in 1974, after the fall of the Greek military junta and the start of the Third Hellen ...
of 1975/1986/2001 with 38 new provisions. Of these, 3 were adopted in May 2008: * Repeal of the prohibition of any professional occupation for the members of Parliament; * Parliament can amend allocations of the state budget, and to monitor their implementation (article 79); * Special provisions for insular and mountainous regions (article 101).


Propositions of the parties

Some of the main points of Karamanlis' and his
New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...
party propositions are: * The modification of the constitutional provision which currently does not allow the foundation and operation of "non-state owned" universities. * The foundation of a Supreme Constitutional Court, which would replace the Supreme Special Court. * The clarification of the meaning of the constitutional provisions concerning the environment. * The adaption of the constitutional provisions concerning the mass media (Article 14) to the rules of the
European law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...
. * The limitation of the cases of
immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
of the Greek deputies.Speech of Kostas Karamanlis of 11 May 2006 as exposed by the Greek Channel Alpha
Agreements and Disagreements on the Constitutional Amendment
For his part, the leader of leading opposition party,
Panhellenic Socialist Movement 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 ...
(PASOK),
George Papandreou George Andreas Papandreou ( el, Γεώργιος Ανδρέας Παπανδρέου, , shortened to ''Giorgos'' () to distinguish him from his grandfather; born 16 June 1952) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from ...
, proposed: * The protection of the human rights of foreigners. * The support of public universities and the operation of "non-state owned" universities under stringent terms. * The strengthening of direct democracy through the promotion of the institution of the
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
. * The
direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...
of the President of the Republic, if a parliamentary majority is not achieved. * The introduction of a new legislative procedure initiated by the people. * The rewriting of the preamble, which asserts
Greek Orthodoxy The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...
's predominant position by the inclusion of the formula "in the name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity".Speech of George Papandreou of th
8 May 2006


Debated issues


Amendment and civil society

For their part, constitutional theory experts, such as G. Papadimitriou, pointed out that without the participation of the
civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.G. Papadimitriou
Constitutional amendment and civil society
Such a participation was going to strengthen the vigor of the political institutions through: * the boosting of the participatory democracy * the protection of human rights and * the renewal of the political system.


Private universities

In 2001
New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...
proposed an amendment of the constitution, in order to allow private universities to operate in Greece on a non-profit basis. This proposal was rejected by then-ruling PASOK, and thus could not muster the support necessary to be put to vote on the constitutional amendment of 2001. However, PASOK has since changed its stance, and now also supports a constitutional provision for the creation of private Universities on a non-profit basis. On behalf of PASOK, Andreas Loverdos underscored his agreement with the operation of private universities, but he insisted that they do not trust the government and that their priority are public universities. This proposal continues however to encounter the fierce opposition of the Left parties, as well as a sizeable part of the academic community, both professors and students. Former President
Christos Sartzetakis Christos Sartzetakis ( el, Χρήστος Σαρτζετάκης; 6 April 1929 – 3 February 2022) was a Greek jurist and a supreme justice of the Court of Cassation, who served as the President of Greece from 1985 to 1990. Early life and educ ...
agreed with the proposed modification of the constitutional provision, which does not allow the operation of "non-state owned" universities. He underscored however that the legislative framework must not allow the foundation of private theological schools.Ch. Sartzetakis,''Thoughts about the Constitutional Amendment-Part 2'' in TO PARON of 6 August 2006


Religion

During the 2001 constitutional amendment, complete separation of church and state was proposed, but the two major parties, New Democracy and PASOK, decided not to open this controversial matter. Some still claim, however, that Greece had and continues to have a serious problem of religious freedom. In any case, none of the two main parties has expressed any intention to amend the Article 3 of the Constitution. K. Karamanlis insisted that his party has not modified its position expressed in 2001. Former Prime Minister
Konstantinos Mitsotakis Konstantinos Mitsotakis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Μητσοτάκης, ; – 29 May 2017) was a Greek politician who was 7th Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. He graduated in law and economics from the University of Athens. His ...
predicated that the separation of church and state is not necessary. He also argued that the problem with the criminal laws concerning
proselytism Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...
could be resolved without any amendment of Article 13.K. Mitsotakis, ''Interview to the TV station NET'' of 21 May 2006 Ch. Sartzetakis asserted that Article 3 of the Constitution should be amended,Ch. Sartzetakis, ''Thoughts about the Constitutional Amendment-Part 1'' in TO PARON of 30 July 2006 so that all the ecclesiastical provinces of Greece come under the authority of the
Church of Greece The Church of Greece ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος, Ekklēsía tē̂s Helládos, ), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Its ...
, in contrast to the current situation, where the lands gained after 1912 lie ''de jure'' under the authority of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
per the Patriarchical Volume of 1850 and the Synodical Act of 1928. According to Sartzetakis, this would be the only way to achieve ecclesiastical unity.


Election of the President

Papandreou proposed the direct election of the President by the people, albeit only in the cases the necessary majority in the
Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...
could not be achieved, emphasizing that a potential political deadlock could thus be avoided. K. Karamanlis rejected this proposal and asserted that the present constitutional provisions needed no modification, although in 2001 he had also supported the direct election of the President.
Konstantinos Mitsotakis Konstantinos Mitsotakis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Μητσοτάκης, ; – 29 May 2017) was a Greek politician who was 7th Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. He graduated in law and economics from the University of Athens. His ...
stayed firm in his traditional position for the direct election of the President by the people. Thereby, he disagreed with ND's current official stance as expressed by its leader. Supporters of Mitsotakis' and Papandreou's proposal, such as Giannis Pretenderis, argue that as the people directly elect their mayor or prefect, they should also in the same way elect the Head of State, whose constitutional role is much more important. On the other hand, Christos Sartzetakis argued that the direct election of the President was not allowed by Article 110 of the Constitution.


Justice

The heads of the supreme courts are appointed by the
Cabinet of Greece The cabinet of Greece, officially called the Ministerial Council (), constitutes the Government of Greece ( el, Κυβέρνηση της Ελλάδας). It is the collective decision-making body of the Hellenic Republic, composed of the Prime Mi ...
for a 4-year term. Ch. Sartzetakis disagrees with these procedure and proposed that the heads of the supreme courts should be chosen by lot among the vice-presidents of each supreme court. He also expressed opposition to the 4-year term, as well as with Karamanlis' proposal for the creation of a Constitutional Court. The foundation of this court was dynamically supported by
Georgios Souflias Georgios Ath. Souflias ( el, Γεώργιος Σουφλιάς) (born July 7, 1941) is a Greek politician. He is a member of the New Democracy political party and was Minister for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works for the durati ...
.


Outcome

In the event, Karamanlis' ambitious plans would not be fulfilled, especially after PASOK's withdrawal from the procedure. The Parliament was convened to take its final decisions as regards the constitutional amendment after the elections of 2007. Finally, in May 2008, only 3 of the 38 proposals of New Democracy were passed by the necessary majority of 180 votes, and finally adopted: #the absolute prohibition of any professional occupation for the members of the Hellenic Parliament is lifted (articles 57 and 115). #the Parliament is given the right to amend allocations of the state budget, and to monitor their implementation (article 79); #special legislative care should be taken for the insular and mountainous regions of Greece (article 101).


External links


PASOK's official site about the Constitutional amendmentForums concerning the upcoming amendment


Notes

{{Constitution of Greece 2008 documents 2008 in law 2008 in Greece 2008 in Greek politics May 2008 events in Europe Constitution of Greece History of Greece since 1974