3rd Annual Report on the Rule of Law in Greece

Govwatch, Greece’s first observatory dedicated to the Rule of Law, marks three years of operation and over 600 documented cases.

This third annual report compiles incidents of Rule of Law violations recorded throughout 2023. As an independent initiative of Vouliwatch, Govwatch is committed to systematically identifying breaches—or credible suspicions of breaches—of Rule of Law principles, while pushing for accountability from state authorities.

Through consistent monitoring over the years, we can now confidently identify recurring failures in specific areas where Greek authorities fall short. These failures undermine key principles such as legality, equality, and transparency and reveal a lack of accountability for those in power.

In 2023, our focus turned to persistent shortcomings in areas critical to upholding the Rule of Law, including:

• The surveillance scandal and infringements on the constitutionally protected right to privacy in communications.
• Interference by the executive branch in the independence and operations of oversight bodies, particularly the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE).
• Police brutality and misconduct.
• Illegal pushbacks of refugees, state negligence in the Pylos shipwreck tragedy, and inadequate living conditions in reception and detention centers.
• Targeting of journalists through surveillance and insufficient protection against press freedom threats, including SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).
• Repeated violations of EU and international obligations, leading to systematic condemnations by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and other European monitoring institutions.