The Greek Constitution               
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The  Constitution Of Greece
  In the name of the Holy and
Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity,
The Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the
Hellenes Resolves: 
  Article I
 1. The form of government of Greece is
that of a parliamentary republic.
 2. Popular sovereignty is the
foundation of government.
 3. All powers derive from the People
and exist for the People and the 
Nation; they shall be exercised as
specified by the Constitution.  
  Article II
 1. Respect and protection of the value
of the human being constitute  the
primary obligations of the State.
 2. Greece, adhering to the generally
recognized rules of international  law,
pursues the strengthening of peace and
of justice, and the fostering  of
friendly relations between peoples and
States.
 Article III
 1. The prevailing religion in Greece is
that of the Eastern Orthodox  Church of
Christ. The Orthodox Church of Greece,
acknowledging our Lord  Jesus Christ as
its head, is inseparably united in
doctrine with the  Great Church of
Christ in Constantinople and with every
other Church  of Christ of the same
doctrine, observing unwaveringly, as
they do,  the holy apostolic and synodal
canons and sacred traditions. It is
autocephalous  and is administered by
the Holy Synod of serving Bishops and
the Permanent  Holy Synod originating
thereof and assembled as specified by
the Statutory  Charter of the Church in
compliance with the provisions of the
Patriarchal  Tome of June 29, 1850 and
the Synodal Act of September 4, 1928.
 2. The ecclesiastical regime existing
in certain districts of the State  shall
not be deemed contrary to the provisions
of the preceding paragraph.
 3. The text of the Holy Scripture shall
be maintained unaltered. Official 
translation of the text into any other
form of language, without prior 
sanction by the Autocephalous Church of
Greece and the Great Church  of Christ
in Constantinople, is prohibited.
 Article IV
 1. All Greeks are equal before the law.
 2. Greek men and women have equal
rights and equal obligations.
 3. All persons possessing the
qualifications for citizenship as
specified  by law are Greek citizens.
Withdrawal of Greek citizenship shall be
 permitted only in case of voluntary
acquisition of another citizenship  or
of undertaking service contrary to
national interests in a foreign 
country, under the conditions and
procedures more specifically provided 
by law.
 4. Only Greek citizens shall be
eligible for public service, except  as
otherwise provided by special laws.
 5. Greek citizens contribute without
distinction to public charges in 
proportion to their means.
 6. Every Greek capable of bearing arms
is obliged to contribute to the  defense
of the Fatherland as provided by law.
 7. Titles of nobility or distinction
are neither conferred upon nor 
recognized in Greek citizens.
 Article V
 1. All persons shall have the right to
develop freely their personality  and to
participate in the social, economic and
political life of the  country, insofar
as they do not infringe the rights of
others or violate  the Constitution and
the good usages.
 2. All persons living within the Greek
territory shall enjoy full protection 
of their life, honor and liberty
irrespective of nationality, race or 
language and of religious or political
beliefs. Exceptions shall be  permitted
only in cases provided by international
law.
 The extradition of aliens prosecuted
for their action as freedom-fighters 
shall be prohibited. 3. Personal liberty
is inviolable. No one shall  be
prosecuted, arrested, imprisoned or
otherwise confined except when  and as
the law provides.
 4. Individual administrative measures
restrictive of the free movement  or
residence in the country, and of the
free exit and entrance therein  of every
Greek shall be prohibited. Such measures
may be imposed in  exceptional cases of
emergency and only in order to prevent
the commitment  of criminal acts,
following a criminal court ruling, as
specified by  law. In extremely urgent
cases the ruling may be issued after the
administrative  measure has been imposed
and within three days at the latest;
otherwise  it is lifted ipso jure.
 Interpretative clause:
 Paragraph 4 does not preclude the
prohibition of exit from the country 
for persons being prosecuted on criminal
charges by act of the public 
prosecutor, or the imposition of
measures necessary for the protection 
of public health or the health of sick
persons, as specified by law.
 Article 6
 1. No person shall be arrested or
imprisoned without a reasoned judicial 
warrant which must be served at the
moment of arrest or detention pending 
trial, except when caught in the act of
committing a crime.
 2. A person who is arrested in the act
of committing a crime or on a  warrant
shall be brought before the competent
examining magistrate within  twenty-four
hours of his arrest at the latest;
should the arrest be  made outside the
seat of the examining magistrate, within
the shortest  time required to transfer
him thereto. The examining magistrate
must,  within three days from the day
the person was brought before him,
either  release the detainee or issue a
warrant of imprisonment. Upon
application  of the person brought
before him or in case of force majeure
confirmed  by decision of the competent
judicial council, this time-limit shall 
be extended by two days.
 3. Should either of these time-limits
elapse before action has been  taken,
any warden or other officer, civil or
military servant, responsible  for the
detention of the arrested person must
release him immediately.  Violators
shall be punished for illegal detention
and shall be liable  to restore any
damage caused to the sufferer and to pay
him a monetary  compensation for pain
and suffering, as specified by law.
 4. The maximum duration of detention
pending trial shall be specified  by
law; such detention may not exceed a
period of one year in the case  of
felonies or six months in the case of
misdemeanors. In entirely exceptional 
cases, the maximum durations may be
extended by six or three months 
respectively, by decision of the
competent judicial council.
 Article 7 
 1. There shall be no crime, nor shall
punishment be inflicted unless 
specified by law in force prior to the
perpetration of the act, defining  the
constitutive elements of the act. In no
case shall punishment more  severe than
that specified at the time of the
perpetration of the act  be inflicted.
 2. Torture, any bodily maltreatment,
impairment of health or the use  of
psychological violence, as well as any
other offence against human  dignity are
prohibited and punished as provided by
law.
 3. General confiscation of property is
prohibited. The death sentence  shall
not be imposed for political crimes,
unless these are composite.
 4. The conditions under which the
State, following a judicial decision, 
shall indemnify persons unjustly or
illegally convicted, detained pending 
trial, or otherwise deprived of their
personal liberty shall be provided  by
law.
 Article 8 
 No person shall be deprived of the
judge assigned to him by law against 
his will.
 Judicial committees or extraordinary
courts, under any name whatsoever, 
shall not be constituted.
 Article 9 
 1. Every person's home is a
sanctuary. The private and family life
of  the individual is inviolable. No
home search shall be made, except when 
and as specified by law and always in
the presence of representatives  of the
judicial power.
 2. Violators of the preceding provision
shall be punished for violating  the
home's asylum and for abuse of
power, and shall be liable for full 
damages to the sufferer, as specified by
law.
 Article 10 
 1. Each person, acting on his own or
together with others, shall have  the
right, observing the laws of the State,
to petition in writing public 
authorities, who shall be obliged to
take prompt action in accordance  with
provisions in force, and to give a
written and reasoned reply to  the
petitioner as provided by law.
 2. Prosecution of the person who has
submitted a petition for punishable 
acts contained therein shall be
permitted only after notification of 
the final decision of the authority to
which the petition was addressed  has
taken place and after permission of this
authority has been obtained.
 3. A request for information shall
oblige the competent authority to 
reply, provided the law thus stipulates.
 Article 11 
 1. Greeks shall have the right to
assemble peaceably and unarmed.
 2. The police may be present only at
outdoor public assemblies. Outdoor 
assemblies may be prohibited by a
reasoned police authority decision,  in
general if a serious threat to public
security is imminent, and in  a specific
area, if a serious disturbance of social
and economic life  is threatened, as
specified by law.
 Article 12 
 1. Greeks shall have the right to form
non-profit associations and unions,  in
compliance with the law, which, however,
may never subject the exercise  of this
right to prior permission.
 2. An association may not be dissolved
for violation of the law or of  a
substantial provision of its statutes,
except by court judgment.
 3. The provisions of the preceding
paragraph shall apply, as the case  may
be, to unions of persons not
constituting an association.
 4. Restrictions on the right of civil
servants to associate may be imposed  by
statute. Restrictions on this right may
also be imposed on employees  of local
government agencies or other public law
legal persons or public  corporations.
 5. Agricultural and urban cooperatives
of all types shall be self-governed 
according to the provisions of the law
and of their statutes; they shall  be
under the protection and supervision of
the State which is obliged  to provide
for their development.
 6. Establishment by law of compulsory
cooperatives serving purposes  of common
benefit or public interest or common
exploitation of farming  areas or other
wealth producing sources shall be
permitted, on condition  however that
the equal treatment of all participants
shall be assured.
 Article 13 
 1. Freedom of religious conscience is
inviolable. The enjoyment of civil 
rights and liberties does not depend on
the individual's religious beliefs.
 2. All known religions shall be free
and their rites of worship shall  be
performed unhindered and under the
protection of the law. The practice  of
rites of worship is not allowed to
offend public order or the good  usages.
Proselytism is prohibited.
 3. The ministers of all known religions
shall be subject to the same 
supervision by the State and to the same
obligations toward it as those  of the
prevailing religion.
 4. No person shall be exempt from
discharging his obligations to the 
State or may refuse to comply with the
laws by reason of his religious 
convictions.
 5. No oath shall be imposed or
administered except as specified by law 
and in the form determined by law. 
 Article 14 
 1. Every person may express and
propagate his thoughts orally, in
writing  and through the press in
compliance with the laws of the State.
 2. The press is free. Censorship and
all other preventive measures are 
prohibited.
 3. The seizure of newspapers and other
publications before or after 
circulation is prohibited.
 Seizure by order of the public
prosecutor shall be allowed
exceptionally  after circulation and in
case of:
 a) an offence against the Christian or
any other known religion. 
 b) an insult against the person of the
President of the Republic. 
 c) a publication which discloses
information on the composition,
equipment  and set-up of the armed
forces or the fortifications of the
country,  or which aims at the violent
overthrow of the regime or is directed 
against the territorial integrity of the
State. 
 d) an obscene publication which is
obviously offensive to public decency, 
in the cases stipulated by law. 
 4. In all the cases specified under the
preceding paragraph, the public 
prosecutor must, within twenty-four
hours from the seizure, submit the  case
to the judicial council which, within
the next twenty-four hours,  must rule
whether the seizure is to be maintained
or lifted; otherwise  it shall be lifted
ipso jure. An appeal may be lodged with
the Court  of Appeals and the Supreme
Civil and Criminal Court by the
publisher  of the newspaper or other
printed matter seized and by the public
prosecutor.
 5. The manner in which full retraction
shall be made in cases of inaccurate 
publications shall be determined by law.
 6. After at least three convictions
within five years for the criminal  acts
defined under paragraph 3, the court
shall order the definitive  ban or the
temporary suspension of the publication
of the paper and,  in severe cases,
shall prohibit the convicted person from
practicing  the profession of journalist
as specified by law. The ban or
suspension  of publication shall be
effective as of the date the court order
becomes  irrevocable.
 7. Press offences shall be subject to
immediate court hearing and shall  be
tried as provided by law.
 8. The conditions and qualifications
requisite for the practice of the 
profession of journalist shall be
specified by law.
 9. The law may specify that the means
of financing newspapers and periodicals 
should be disclosed.
 Article 15 
 1. The protective provisions for the
press in the preceding article  shall
not be applicable to films, sound
recordings, radio, television  or any
other similar medium for the
transmission of speech or images.
 2. Radio and television shall be under
the immediate control of the  State and
shall aim at the objective transmission,
on equal terms, of  information and news
reports as well as works of literature
and art;  the qualitative level of
programs shall be assured in
consideration  of their social mission
and the cultural development of the
country.
 Article 16 
 1. Art and science, research and
teaching shall be free and their
development  and promotion shall be an
obligation of the State. Academic
freedom  and freedom of teaching shall
not exempt anyone from his duty of
allegiance  to the Constitution.
 2. Education constitutes a basic
mission for the State and shall aim  at
the moral, intellectual, professional
and physical training of Greeks,  the
development of national and religious
consciousness and at their  formation as
free and responsible citizens.
 3. The number of years of compulsory
education shall be no less than  nine.
 4. All Greeks are entitled to free
education on all levels at State 
educational institutions. The State
shall provide financial assistance  to
those who distinguish themselves, as
well as to students in need  of
assistance or special protection, in
accordance with their abilities.
 5. Education at university level shall
be provided exclusively by institutions 
which are fully self-governed public law
legal persons. These institutions  shall
operate under the supervision of the
State and are entitled to  financial
assistance from it; they shall operate
on the basis of statutorily  enacted
by-laws. Merging or splitting of
university level institutions  may take
place notwithstanding any contrary
provisions, as a law shall  provide.
 A special law shall define all matters
pertaining to student associations  and
the participation of students therein.
6. Professors of university  level
institutions shall be public
functionaries. The remaining teaching 
personnel likewise perform a public
function, under the conditions specified
 by law. The statutes of respective
institutions shall define matters 
relating to the status of all the above.
 Professors of university level
institutions shall not be dismissed
prior  to the lawful termination of
their term of service, except in the
cases  of the substantive conditions
provided by article 88 paragraph 4 and 
following a decision by a council
constituted in its majority of highest 
judicial functionaries, as specified by
law.
 The retirement age of professors of
university level institutions shall  be
determined by law; until such law is
issued, professors on active  service
shall retire ipso jure at the end of the
academic year at which  they have
reached the age of sixty-seven.
 7. Professional and any other form of
special education shall be provided  by
the State, through schools of a higher
level and for a time period  not
exceeding three years, as specifically
provided by law which also  defines the
professional rights of the graduates of
such schools.
 8. The conditions and terms for
granting a license for the establishment
 and operation of schools not owned by
the State, the supervision of  such and
the professional status of teaching
personnel therein shall  be specified by
law.
 The establishment of university level
institutions by private persons  is
prohibited.
 9. Athletics shall be under the
protection and the ultimate supervision 
of the State.
 The State shall make grants to and
shall control all types of athletic 
associations, as specified by law. The
use of grants in accordance with  the
purpose of the associations receiving
them shall also be specified  by law.
 Article 17 
 1. Property is under the protection of
the State; rights deriving therefrom, 
however, may not be exercised contrary
to the public interest.
 2. No one shall be deprived of his
property except for public benefit 
which must be duly proven, when and as
specified by statute and always 
following full compensation
corresponding to the value of the
expropriated  property at the time of
the court hearing on the provisional
determination  of compensation. In cases
in which a request for the final
determination  of compensation is made,
the value at the time of the court
hearing  of the request shall be
considered.
 3. Any change in the value of
expropriated property occurring after 
publication of the act of expropriation
and resulting exclusively therefrom 
shall not be taken into account.
 4. Compensation shall in all cases be
determined by civil courts. Such 
compensation may also be determined
provisionally by the court after 
hearing or summoning the beneficiary,
who may be obliged, at the discretion 
of the court, to furnish a commensurate
guarantee for collecting the 
compensation as provided by law.
 Prior to payment of the final or
provisional compensation determined  by
the court, all rights of the owner shall
be maintained intact and  occupation of
the property shall not be allowed.
 Compensation in the amount determined
by the court must in all cases  be paid
within one and one half years at the
latest from the date of  publication of
the decision regarding provisional
determination of compensation  payable,
and in cases of a direct request for the
final determination  of compensation,
from the date of publication of the
court ruling, otherwise  the
expropriation shall be revoked ipso
jure.
 The compensation as such is exempt from
any taxes, deductions or fees.
 5. The cases in which compulsory
compensation shall be paid to the
beneficiaries  for lost income from
expropriated property until the time of
payment  of the compensation shall be
specified by law.
 6. In the case of execution of works
serving the public benefit or being  of
a general importance to the economy of
the country, a law may allow  the
expropriation in favor of the State of
wider zones beyond the areas  necessary
for the execution of the works. The said
law shall specify  the conditions and
terms of such expropriation, as well as
the matters  pertaining to the disposal
for public or public utility purposes in
 general, of areas expropriated in
excess of those required.
 7. The digging of underground tunnels
at the appropriate depth without 
compensation, may be allowed by law for
the execution of works of evident 
public utility for the State, public law
legal persons, local government 
agencies, public utility agencies and
public enterprises, on condition  that
the normal exploitation of the property
situated above shall not  be hindered.
 Article 18 
 1. The ownership and disposal of mines,
quarries, caves, archaeological  sites
and treasures, mineral, running and
underground waters and underground 
resources in general, shall be regulated
by special laws.
 2. The ownership, exploitation and
administration of lagoons and large 
lakes, as well as the general disposal
of areas resulting from the draining  of
such, shall be regulated by law.
 3. Requisitions of property for the
needs of the armed forces in case  of
war or mobilization, or for the purpose
of facing an immediate social  emergency
that may endanger public order or
health, shall be regulated  by special
laws.
 4. The redistribution of agricultural
areas for the purpose of exploiting  the
land more profitably, as well as the
adoption of measures to prevent 
excessive parceling or to facilitate
restructuring of small parceled  farm
holdings, shall be allowed in accordance
with the procedure specified  by special
law.
 5. In addition to the cases specified
in the preceding paragraphs, the  law
may provide for other necessary
deprivations of the free use and 
enjoyment of property, owing to special
circumstances. The law shall  specify
the obligor and the procedure of payment
to the person entitled  to compensation
for the use or enjoyment, which must be
commensurate  to the conditions present
on each occasion.
 Measures imposed in accordance with
this paragraph shall be lifted as  soon
as the special reasons that necessitated
them cease to exist. In  case of undue
prolongation of the measures, the
Supreme Administrative  Court shall
decide on their revocation, by
categories of cases, upon  recourse by
any person having a legitimate interest.
 6. A law may regulate the disposal of
abandoned lands for the purpose  of
revalorizing them to the benefit of the
national economy and the  rehabilitation
of destitute farmers. The same law shall
provide for  the matters of partial or
full compensation of owners, in case of
their  reappearance within a reasonable
time limit.
 7. Compulsory joint ownership of
adjoining properties in urban areas  may
be introduced by law, if independent
rebuilding on the said properties  or
some of them does not conform with the
applicable or prospective  building
regulations in the area.
 8. Farmlands belonging to the
Patriarchal Monasteries of Aghia
Anastasia  Pharmacolytria in Chalkidiki,
of Vlatadhes in Thessaloniki and Ioannis
 the Evangelist Theologos in Patmos,
with the exception of the dependencies 
thereof, cannot be subject to
expropriation. Likewise the property in 
Greece of the Patriarchates of
Alexandria, Antiocheia and Jerusalem 
and that of the Holy Monastery of Mount
Sinai cannot be subject to
expropriation.
 Article 19 
 Secrecy of letters and all other forms
of free correspondence or communication 
shall be absolutely inviolable. The
guaranties under which the judicial 
authority shall not be bound by this
secrecy for reasons of national 
security or for the purpose of
investigating especially serious crimes,
 shall be specified by law.
 Article 20 
 1. Every person shall be entitled to
receive legal protection by the  courts
and may plead before them his views
concerning his rights or  interests, as
specified by law.
 2. The right of a person to a prior
hearing also applies in any
administrative  action or measure
adopted at the expense of his rights or
interests.
 Article 21 
 1. The family, being the cornerstone of
the preservation and the advancement  of
the Nation, as well as marriage,
motherhood and childhood, shall  be
under the protection of the State.
 2. Families with many children,
disabled war and peace-time veterans, 
war victims, widows and orphans, as well
as persons suffering from incurable 
bodily or mental ailments are entitled
to the special care of the State.
 3. The State shall care for the health
of citizens and shall adopt special 
measures for the protection of youth,
old age, disability and for the  relief
of the needy.
 4. The acquisition of a home by the
homeless or those inadequately sheltered
 shall constitute an object of special
State care.
 Article 22 
 1. Work constitutes a right and shall
enjoy the protection of the State, 
which shall seek to create conditions of
employment for all citizens  and shall
pursue the moral and material
advancement of the rural and  urban
working population.
 All workers, irrespective of sex or
other distinctions, shall be entitled 
to equal pay for work of equal value.
 2. General working conditions shall be
determined by law, supplemented  by
collective labor agreements contracted
through free negotiations  and, in case
of the failure of such, by rules
determined by arbitration.
 3. Any form of compulsory work is
prohibited.
 Special laws shall determine the
requisition of personal services in 
case of war or mobilization or to face
defense needs of the country  or urgent
social emergencies resulting from
disasters or liable to endanger  public
health, as well as the contribution of
personal work to local  government
agencies to satisfy local needs.
 4. The State shall care for the social
security of the working people,  as
specified by law.
 Interpretative clause:
 The general working conditions include
the definition of the manner  of
collection and the agent obliged to
collect and return to trade unions 
membership fees, specified in their
respective by-laws.
 Article 23 
 1. The State shall adopt due measures
safeguarding the freedom to unionize 
and the unhindered exercise of related
rights against any infringement  thereon
within the limits of the law.
 2. Strike constitutes a right to be
exercised by lawfully established  trade
unions in order to protect and promote
the financial and the general  labor
interests of working people.
 Strikes of any nature whatsoever are
prohibited in the case of judicial 
functionaries and those serving in the
security corps. The right to  strike
shall be subject to the specific
limitations of the law regulating  this
right in the case of public servants and
employees of local government  agencies
and of public law legal persons as well
as in the case of the  employees of all
types of enterprises of a public nature
or of public  benefit, the operation of
which is of vital importance in serving
the  basic needs of the society as a
whole. These limitations may not be 
carried to the point of abolishing the
right to strike or hindering  the lawful
exercise thereof.
 Article 24 
 1. The protection of the natural and
cultural environment constitutes  a duty
of the State. The State is bound to
adopt special preventive  or repressive
measures for the preservation of the
environment. Matters  pertaining to the
protection of forests and forest
expanses in general  shall be regulated
by law. Alteration of the use of state
forests and  state forest expanses is
prohibited, except where agricultural
development  or other uses imposed for
the public interest prevail for the
benefit  of the national economy.
 2. The master plan of the country, and
the arrangement, development, 
urbanization and expansion of towns and
residential areas in general,  shall be
under the regulatory authority and the
control of the State,  in the aim of
serving the functionality and the
development of settlements  and of
securing the best possible living
conditions.
 3. For the purpose of designating an
area as residential and of activating 
its urbanization, properties included
therein must participate, without 
compensation from the respective
agencies, in the disposal of land
necessary  for the construction of
roads, squares and public utility areas
in general,  and contribute toward the
expenses for the execution of the basic
public  urban works, as specified by
law.
 4. The law may provide for the
participation of property owners of an 
area designated as residential in the
development and general accommodation 
of that area, on the basis of an
approved town plan, in exchange for 
real estate or apartments of equal value
in the parts of such areas  that shall
finally be designated as suitable for
construction or in  buildings of the
same area.
 5. The provisions of the preceding
paragraphs shall also be applicable  in
the rehabilitation of existing
residential areas. Spaces remaining 
free after rehabilitation shall be
allotted to the creation of common 
utility areas or shall be sold to cover
expenses incurred for the
rehabilitation,  as specified by law. 6.
Monuments and historic areas and
elements shall  be under the protection
of the State. A law shall provide for
measures  restrictive of private
ownership deemed necessary for
protection thereof,  as well as for the
manner and the kind of compensation
payable to owners.
 Article 25 
 1. The rights of man as an individual
and as a member of the society  are
guaranteed by the State and all agents
of the State shall be obliged  to ensure
the unhindered exercise thereof.
 2. The recognition and protection of
the fundamental and inalienable  rights
of man by the State aims at the
achievement of social progress  in
freedom and justice. 
 3. The abusive exercise of rights is
not permitted.
 4. The State has the right to claim of
all citizens to fulfill the duty  of
social and national solidarity.     
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