The Minister of Justice and Public Order, Mrs.Stefi Drakou, attended today the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament on the issue of the reform of the judiciary and the three bills concerning the Supreme Court.
In her remarks at the end of the session, the Minister noted that.
I would like to thank the President Mr. Nikos Tornaritis and the members of the Commission for the excellent atmosphere that prevails, where various issues are raised and through a productive dialogue, we arrive at the right solutions.
As has been said repeatedly, what needs to be said has been said. We have reached the stage of final decisions. My plea to the House is to see the matter swiftly and bring the bills to the floor for passage, because by word of mouth, that is what justice needs. Otherwise the system will collapse."
I remain at the disposal of the House to the end to overcome any concerns that exist and were expressed today through individual remarks."
To a reporter's question: "Assuming that in May higher education reform passes, it took us a decade to get to this point. What about the lower tier?", the Minister said that a separate initiative has already been taken on this issue, which will proceed independently of the current proposed reform.
On 20/04, a discussion with representatives from all parliamentary parties and stakeholders will begin to study suggestions for improving the District Courts and Special Jurisdiction Courts.
On 20/04, a discussion will begin with representatives from all parliamentary parties and stakeholders to study suggestions for improving the District Courts and Special Jurisdiction Courts. He then commented:
"Therefore, I believe that through these bills and their passage we are on the right track for the citizen to see improvement in the adjudication of cases.
Because I must say that our courts and our judicial system are at a good level in all other indicators. I am not saying that but international indicators such as the EU scoreboard show it.
Where the system falls short is in the time it takes to hear cases. And this is what we aim to fix. Together with the parliament and stakeholders, I hope that with this last-ditch effort we will achieve what has not been achieved for so many years."
Asked about the implementation time of the bills and whether there will be a new form of administration of justice by the end of 2022, the Minister commented that. The big challenge is to implement all those things that involve a broader planning as I said."
As the Minister clarified, it is up to the state and the Supreme Court to make broader legislative and administrative cuts."
Asked again, a reporter raised the question "If the bills are voted down, what will happen?"
The Minister clarified that: "I hope so. I remain optimistic and determined to overcome the problems and get our justice system where it needs to be. When we all admit that this system is leading to a collapse of justice I cannot see how we can remain here. So I remain optimistic."
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