To safeguard the purpose of good law‑making, provisions of the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure of Parliament and Law 4622/2019 regulate issues related to the legislative drafting and law‑making process and set out rules that must be followed when drafting, submitting and adopting a bill or an amendment.
The way in which ministerial amendments should be submitted, debated and voted on – including when and with what content – is regulated by Article 74(5) of the Constitution and Articles 87, 88 and 101(5) of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.
Under this framework, amendments:
a) must relate to the main subject of the bill or legislative proposal, and
b) must be submitted at least three days before the start of the debate in the Plenary, in the Article 71 Section, or in the competent standing committee.
Despite these provisions, the submission of late and/or unrelated amendments does not appear to be an isolated phenomenon in 2025.
For the purposes of this report:
i) “Late” amendments are those submitted either on the same day or the day before the vote on the law or the start of the Plenary debate (in cases where multiple sittings took place).
ii) “Unrelated” amendments are those containing provisions not directly connected to the main subject of the law. An amendment is considered unrelated when both of the following apply:
In 2025, 97 legislative acts were adopted (Laws 5168/2025 to 5264/2025), of which:
A closer examination of 47 of these laws showed that one or more amendments were submitted in 38 of them. In total, 53 ministerial amendments were submitted, containing 223 articles.
Despite the constitutional and procedural rules:
The dataset on which these findings are based is available here.
Further issues and concerns regarding the 2025 legislative process can be found in the Joint Report on the State of the Rule of Law in Greece.
Under the rule of law, the Government and Parliament must follow and apply the rules established to guarantee and promote practices of good and transparent law‑making.
In Greece, however, the failure to adhere to the principles of good law‑making appears to be a long‑standing and systemic problem.
The continued practice in 2025 of submitting and adopting unrelated and/or late amendments reflects an entrenched pattern that inevitably raises serious concerns.
Bank Account number: 1100 0232 0016 560
IBAN: GR56 0140 1100 1100 0232 0016 560
BIC: CRBAGRAA
In a time where the very foundations of democracy are gradually being eroded by the rise of extreme nationalism, alt-right movements, the spread of disinformation and corporate capture, the efforts of organisations such as Vouliwatch are more relevant than ever.
We rely on the generosity of each and every one of you to continue with our efforts for more transparency and accounta
By financially supporting Vouliwatch you support our litigation strategy, our campaigns for transparency and accountability in the political system, the development of new civic tech tools, our research projects and last but not least our impartial and accurate
