October 2024 – October 2026

 


« Supporting the reduction of backlog in the First Instance Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki (pilot courts) »

The project is co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Commission.   

 

Context and Objectives

In order to make the Greek judicial system operate at optimal efficiency standards and face in particular important backlog of civil cases, the current Project will support the First Instance Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki’s in their efforts to reduce their backlogs with the support of the CEPEJ tools and in particular its Backlog reduction tool. The project will be based on an assessment of the root causes of delays in court proceedings in the two courts in terms of organisation, legal framework, processes and human resources available. Recommendations and action plans will then be developed to reduce the backlog in close collaboration with the two courts. Finally, capacity-building measures for judges and court staff will ensure that proposed measures are implemented.

Main Activities

  • Mapping of the as-is situation in the First Instance Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki
  • Needs assessment (in terms of organisation and operations frameworks) and SWOT analysis of the to-be situation
  • Recommendations and concrete action plans for backlog reduction describing the to-be organizational, legal and workflow frameworks, including communication and change management plans
  • Introductory workshop explaining the objectives of the project to the courts’ judges, clerks and staff
  • Workshops and trainings for the courts’ judges, clerks and staff contributing to the implementation of the action plans
  • Awareness raising event for lawyers, mediators and legal professionals in general on the proposed measures
  • Final report with policy recommendations of general application to the court systems in Greece for the development of the national backlog reduction strategy

Project beneficiaries and stakeholders

Ministry of Justice; First Instance Court of Athens (courts’ judges and staff); First Instance Court of Thessaloniki (courts’ judges and staff); National School of the Judiciary; Lawyers, mediators and legal professionals in general.

Contacts

Council of Europe - Strasbourg

 

Emmanuel Baron

Project Coordinator

 

Jovana Matic

Project Coordinator

 

Ervilda Smajlaj

Assistante de projet

Translation of CEPEJ documents
News

Back Support to reducing Backlogs in the First Instance Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki based on CEPEJ tools

Support to reducing Backlogs in the First Instance Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki based on CEPEJ tools

The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) launched the project ‘Supporting the reduction of the backlog of cases in the courts of first instance of Athens and Thessaloniki)’ during a kick-off meeting which took place on 5 November 2024 in Athens in cooperation with DGREFORM, the Ministry of Justice and the First Instance Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki. The event provided an opportunity to present and exchange views on the various aspects of the project, to ensure a common understanding of the objectives, the results to be achieved, the approach to be adopted and the expectations of the beneficiaries.

The project aims at reducing backlogs of cases and shortening the length of proceedings in the First Instance Pilot Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki, using CEPEJ’s tools, notably the recent Backlog Reduction Tool.

The meeting was opened by Mr Georgios Floridis, Greek Minister of Justice, Mr Konstantinos Koussoulis, Vice-President of the Hellenic Council of State, CEPEJ Member on behalf of Greece, Mrs Nathalie Berger, Director for Support to Member State reforms, DG REFORM, European Commission, Ms Clare Ovey, Director of Human Rights, Council of Europe, Mr Christoforos Linos, President of the First Instance Court of Athens and Mr Petros Alikakos, President of the First Instance Court of Thessaloniki.

Following the meeting, a fact-finding mission took place in the two Pilot Courts, allowing CEPEJ experts to meet with judges and judicial staff and to exchange in order to gain a better understanding of the main issues concerning the delays in civil cases at the level of courts and case management, legal framework, working structures, processes, and human resources. Following further discussions in the coming months, a diagnostic report will be prepared, providing the basis for recommendations on specific, effective measures to reduce backlogs in the relevant courts.

This project is co-funded by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Commission.

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ATHENS, GREECE 5 NOVEMBER 2024
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