Constitution of Greece

The Syntagma (Σύνταγμα), the Constitution of Greece was created by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised twice since then, in 1985 and in 2001.

Syntagma Square (Plateia Syntagmatos) in Athens is named after the constitution.

Context

The Constitution consists of 120 articles and it is set out in 4 parts:

The first part (articles 1-3), Basic provisions, establishes the Greek government as a parliamentary republic, and confirms the prevalence of the Orthodox Church in Greece.
The second part (articles 4-25) concerns individual and social rights, whose the protection has been reinforced after the Amendment of 2001. The new provisions regulate subjects such as the protection of personal data and the competence of certain independent authorities.
The third part (articles 26-105) describes the organization and function of the State, in which Article 28 formally integrates international laws and international conventions into Greek law.
The fourth part (articles 106-120) are special, final and transitory provisions.

The plans for a new amendment

At the outset of 2006, prime minister Kostas Karamanlis announced ND's iniciative for a new amendment of the Constitution of 1975/1988/2001. Although the proposition of the ruling party has not yet taken a concrete form, some of its main points are going to be:

the withdrawal of the constitutional prohibition for the foundation of "non-state owned" universities.
the foundation of a Supreme Constitutional Court, which will replace the Supreme Special Court.
the clarification of the meaning of the constitutional provisions, concerning the environment

Previous Constitutions

In the modern history of Greece, sarting from the Greek War of Independence, the Constitution of 1975/1986/2001 is the last in a series of democratically adopted (with the exception of the Constitutions of 1968 and 1973 imposed by a dictatorship) Constitutions. In a chronological order, these are:

Greek Constitution of 1822
Greek Constitution of 1823
Greek Constitution of 1827
Greek Constitution of 1832
Greek Constitution of 1844
Greek Constitution of 1864
Greek Constitution of 1911
Greek Constitution of 1925
Greek Constitution of 1927
Draft Constitution of 1948
Greek Constitution of 1852
Greek Constitution of 1968
Greek Constitution of 1973

Links

an English translation with a link to the Greek text
Full text in English, in Greek and in Spanish (1975 version)

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