Council of State

The members of Türkiye's highest administrative court, the Council of State, have reelected the incumbent president, Zeki Yiğit, for a new four-year term with 62 votes.

Yiğit, whose term of office that began in May 2020 was due to expire, competed against three other candidates in the elections held on April 24.

Thirteen collective requests for the annulment of the presidential decree concerning urban planning in the 2018 fire-affected regions of Eastern Attica, such as Mati, Rafina and Marathonas are being deliberated by the Council of State. 

The President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou attended on Monday the opening of the "Judicial Renaissance" seminar at the University of Athens, which is co-organized by the Council of State, the School of Law of the University of Athens, and the National Judicial College of the USA.

The legislative arrangements of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs for the utilization of specialized professionals, aimed at dealing with the problem of delays in the issue of thousands of main or auxiliary pensions, are within the constitutional and legal frameworks.

An Environment Ministry decision on the height of buildings insists that an additional bonus in floors as stipulated in the new building regulation can be applied in Athens as well, thus overriding a series of recent decisions by the Council of State on the matter.

The President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou extended an invitation to the leadership of the Greek justice system and the plenary of the Bar Association Presidents on January 16 to discuss and attempt to solve the issues plaguing the Greek justice system.

The Council of State has upheld Türkiye's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, also known as the Council of Europe Convention, on preventing violence against women.

The Administrative Courts Board of the Council of State made the final decision in the case regarding Türkiye's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, while the board found the decision "in accordance with the law."

I read the farewell letter that was published in Kathimerini by former Greek prime minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos following the recent death of his friend and colleague Giorgos Panagiotopoulos (both men served as presidents of the Council of State, the country's highest administrative court).

The process of appointing new presidents of the country's top courts began on Thursday with Justice Minister Konstantinos Tsiaras presenting the cabinet with a list of proposed candidates for the Supreme Court and the Council of State.

Testimony by Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos, one of 10 Greek officials implicated (but not incriminated) in the original Novartis investigation, points to political interference in the judicial handling of the probe, reports said Friday.