A/HRC/45/16/Add.1
Persons, the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Protocols additional thereto,
the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization, the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court, and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
9.
The State is not party to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure or the Optional
Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
10.
Greece has been subject to the universal periodic review, having participated in two
cycles, in 2011 and 2016. Its third-cycle review is scheduled for 2021.
B.
National legal framework
1.
Constitutional protections
11.
The current Constitution was adopted in 1975 and revised most recently in 2019.
According to article 28 (1), international treaties ratified by Greece are an integral part of
domestic Greek law and prevail over any contrary provision of the law.
12.
The Constitution guarantees respect for and protection of the value of the human
being (art. 2); full protection of life, honour and liberty, irrespective of nationality, race,
language, or religious or political beliefs, for all persons living within the Greek territory
(art. 5 (2)); and the inviolability of personal liberty (art. 5 (3)). Furthermore, the
Constitution provides for freedom of opinion, expression, speech and the press (art. 14).
13.
The Constitution prohibits arrest or imprisonment without a reasoned judicial
warrant which must be served at the moment of the arrest or detention pending trial, except
when a person is caught in the act of committing a crime (art. 6 (1)). Article 7.4 provides
for compensation for unjust or unlawful deprivation of liberty.
14.
According to the Constitution, all persons are entitled to receive legal protection by
the courts and may plead their views concerning personal rights or interests, as specified by
law (art. 20 (1)). The right of a person to a prior hearing also applies in any administrative
action or measure adopted at the expense of the person’s rights or interests (art. 20 (2)).
2.
Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code
15.
Defendants have the right to counsel and enjoy the presumption of innocence.
Depending on the seriousness of the offence, a detainee may be held in remand for up to
one year. According to article 87 of the Penal Code and article 371 (4) of the Criminal
Procedure Code, the term of pretrial detention and the time between the arrest and the order
of pretrial detention is deducted from the sentence.
16.
Rules of evidence apply in court, and witnesses are subject to cross-examination.
Detainees have unlimited access to their defence lawyer. Defendants may present witnesses
and evidence on their behalf, and question witnesses testifying against them. They have
access to evidence held by the authorities. They may appeal a court decision to a higher
court. Persons who have been detained on remand and subsequently acquitted are entitled
to request compensation if it has been established in the proceedings that they did not
commit the criminal offence for which they were detained.
3.
Laws concerning migration
17.
The new Law No. 4636/2019 on international protection codifies the legislation on
international protection and aims to reinforce legal certainty and efficiency. 1 The law
features more restrictive provisions in regard to the detention of applicants compared to
previous legislation.
1
4
Certain provisions of Law No. 4636/2019 were amended by Law No. 4686/2020.
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