“The abstention of the lawyers is a legal right and a means of assertion”, stressed the president of the DSA
“Respect for our institutional role is non-negotiable” answers the President of the Plenary Session of the Presidents of the Bar Associations of Greece, Dimitris Vervesosto the President of the Council of State M. Pikrammeno, on the occasion of his letter which he characterizes as “unwarranted interference in the internal autonomy of the bar associations” regarding the proposal for lawyers to abstain.
In his letter to his President Co Mr. Vervesos states that “the abstention of the lawyers is a legal right and a means of assertion” noting that “the huge delays in the awarding of Justice in the CoE are due to others known to the “Jerusalem supporters” and let’s not look for an alibi in the abstention of the lawyers ».
The entire letter reads as follows:
Dear Mr. President,
In response to no. prot. oik 656/12.11.2024 Your letter, with which a direct and institutionally unfortunate, unprovoked and impermissible interference in the autonomy and internal functioning of the legal bodies is attempted, we express our strong opposition to you.
The decisions of our bodies are dictated by the need to fulfill our purposes, as they are determined by law. The abstention of lawyers is a legal right and means of assertion, which is decided by the competent bodies and is not evaluated by one-person bodies of the Administration of Justice.
The recent decisions of the Plenary Session of the Council of State regarding the legalization of the country’s Bar Associations are a setback for the Rule of Law and this cannot leave us indifferent and inactive.
According to the existing legislation, you have an institutional mission to take charge of the orderly functioning of your Court and to resolve the problems that arise, especially those related to the time of issuing decisions, an area in which your Court, unfortunately, occupies a prominent position in the speed of awarding of justice at the European level, with 1239 days of delay, according to the official data of the recently published report of the year 2024 of the competent EU Commission (CEPEJ Evaluation Report European Judicial Systems, p. 78 ff.) a fact that undermines the right of citizens to judicial protection . And no competence by law is provided for Ymas that gives you the possibility of institutional intervention in the internal autonomy of the Associations.
And the huge delays in the awarding of Justice at the CoE are due to other reasons known to the “Jerusalem residents” and let’s not look for an alibi in the abstention of the lawyers.
Respect for our institutional role is non-negotiable.
