Reflections on the selection of members of ADAE and NCRTV: Was this an attempt to interfere in the functioning of these independent authorities?

Was this an attempt to interfere in the functioning of these independent authorities?

The recent changes to the composition and to the way that new members of the independent authorities of the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) and the Greek National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV) are selected, have been a major topic of public debate. Here we explore the issues raised by the procedure followed by the government and highlight our concerns about the persistent lack of transparency in the work of the Parliament. 

On 28 September 2023, the Conference of Presidents of the Parliament met to select the members of two of the constitutionally enshrined Independent Authorities, Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) and the Greek National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV). 

Following the decisions taken by the Conference of Presidents No. 280 (Government Gazette No. 1037/28-9-2023) and 281 (Government Gazette No. 1038/28-9-2023) as well as decisions No. 48024oik and 48025oik from the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and decisions of the Minister of Justice (Government Gazette 1039/28-9-2023), the chairmen, vice-chairmen and members of the two aforementioned constitutionally guaranteed Independent Authorities were appointed.

The procedure followed for the appointment of these members has, however, been the subject of much controversy from political and legal experts. 

The main issues that have emerged as causes for concern are as follows:

• The fact that the decision of the Conference of Presidents was taken without the constitutionally required full majority of three-fifths of its members,
• The fact that the selection of the new members took place without prior parliamentary consultation or consensus, and without the candidates being subject to a parliamentary hearing,
• The fact that the Conference of Presidents was convened unexpectedly and hastily, as well as the fact that a decision was taken to change the members making up the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) when this same authority was scheduled to meet the following day to discuss imposing a fine on the National Intelligence Service (EYP) due to its failure to cooperate with the investigation into the wiretapping scandal,
•  The ministerial decisions and the Official Gazette appointing the selected members were issued much more quickly than is usual practice,
• The fact that the composition of the Conference of Presidents was enlarged just 20 days before the meeting in question,
• The fact that the whole sequence of events calls into question the independence of the authorities and may be construed as interference (or attempted interference) in their work,

(See more on these issues: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)

α) In a letter to the President of the Parliament, MP Z. Konstantopoulou commented that the scheduling of a Conference of Presidents on such serious issues as the appointment of members of independent authorities must not be done unexpectedly or hastily, which in itself was demonstrated by the fact that within a few hours the proposals for some of the nominations were changed. She also highlighted that independent authorities should be truly independent and not party-controlled, and that on this occasion Parliament was neither informed, nor were nominees called for a hearing.

b) The decision taken by the Conference of Presidents was ultimately passed only with the support of the ruling New Democracy party and the Greek Solution party.

c) At the time, the terms of office of members of other independent authorities such as the Ombudsman and the Hellenic Data Protection Authority had also expired, making the choice to select members only for these two specific authorities (ADAE and the NCRTV) rather than the others as well, added to concerns.

• A 2016 decision of the Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, (Government Gazette 403/26-7-2023) appointed A. Pottakis in the Ombudsman’s office for a six-year term, and according to the Authority’s website he is still serving today. 
• A 2016 decision of the Minister of Justice (Government Gazette 442/18-8-2016), appointed a number of staff members to the Data Protection Authority who, according to the website, are still serving today.

The Athens Bar Association, at its meeting on 17-10-2023, have also decided to file an application with the Council of State to annul the decisions by which the chairmen, vice-chairmen and members of the aforementioned Independent Authorities were appointed.

If one searches for information about the Conference of Presidents on the Parliament’s website, one will find that: 

• Only general information about this body is given in the Organisation & Operations field. There also does not appear to be any documents clarifying who makes up the Conference of Presidents during the current parliamentary term. It should be noted that two persons (Mrs Konstantopoulou and Mr Bouras) may participate in the Conference of Presidents in more than one capacity and, as a result, questions are growing as to the composition of this body.

• The only Minutes of the Conference of Presidents that seem to have been published are those of the Ist Session in the year 2015. We have been unable to find any other record (written or video) of the meetings or activities of this body.

Therefore it appears that we cannot know for sure how many people make up this body, who they are, or when or why it meets and what decisions it takes. 

For this reason, we at Vouliwatch sent an access to information request to the Parliament on 2-10-2023, asking for information about the composition of the Conference of Presidents as well as details of its meeting on 28 September 2023. 

This request, along with several previous ones, have unfortunately not been answered to date.

We have also communicated by telephone with the services responsible for keeping the minutes of the Parliament as well as with Parliament TV. They informed us that both the minutes and the video recording of the meetings of the Conference of Presidents are not public and can only be published on the order of the President of the Parliament.  This is despite the fact that, as can be seen from this excerpt posted on youtube, the meeting in question was covered by Parliamentary television.

This incident calls into question just how independent the independent authorities and their members are, and shows once again how important it is to change the way that Parliament operates and to implement full and effective transparency in decision-making. 

The fulfilment of our long-standing demand for the publication of the minutes of the proceedings of all committees and, in general, of all Parliamentary bodies, could be the first step towards enhancing transparency and restoring citizens’ confidence in the institution of Parliament. 

After all, it is not enough for Caesar’s wife to be honest, she must also be completely above suspicion, and at the moment there are far too many doubts!