The Disciplinary Plenary of the Supreme Court, presided over by Ioanna Klapa, dismissed seven judges and one Deputy Appeals Prosecutor due to improper insulting behavior, extensive delays, and health issues.

Specifically, those removed from the judiciary include one Deputy Appeals Prosecutor, one Appeals Court judge, two Presiding Judges of Courts of First Instance, and four Judges of Courts of First Instance.

In greater detail, a Deputy Appeals Prosecutor residing in the Kypseli area was permanently dismissed for “repeated undignified behavior outside of service, incompatible with her office and damaging to the dignity of herself and the judiciary.”

According to Supreme Court judge Evangelia Giakoumatou, the behavior of the Deputy Prosecutor was “incompatible with her function, demonstrating a lack of awareness of her fundamental duties as a prosecutorial officer and lacking the required ethos for the prosecutorial role, severely damaging both her own prestige and that of the judiciary.”

The Deputy Prosecutor had previously received disciplinary penalties for unjustified delays and undignified behavior. However, what led to her dismissal by the members of the Disciplinary Plenary was her abusive language and fights in the apartment building, particularly over parking spaces in the building’s underground area.

The incident began with an intense confrontation with another resident who had parked his vehicle in a spot granted to him by a third resident.

The Deputy Prosecutor loudly shouted: “I will f… that a… who parked here, the son of a wh…, f… his mother, I’ll f… the b…” and placed a handwritten note on his windshield wiper demanding that he remove the car because it blocked her, while she continued swearing and threatening him.

The resident called the police, at which point she attacked and started hitting his hands, simultaneously trying to take back the handwritten note she had left on his car’s windshield.

When four police officers arrived, she created a diversion by asking them to check if the opposing resident had planted a bomb because she feared for her life!

Following this incident, the Deputy Prosecutor, approximately twice a week—whether at night, midnight, or morning—”either at the door of her apartment, in the building’s lobby, or from her balcony, loudly banged the railings with a broomstick, causing disturbing noise, while screaming unspeakably obscene phrases and profanity, addressing the owner of the 5th floor such as: ‘Wh… from the 5th floor, I’ll f… you, I’ll rip you apart, f… the mother who gave birth to you, I’ll kill you wh…, you c… with condoms, get lost wh…, b… from the 5th I’ll show you, I’ll put you on trial you wh… daughter, f…, go to hell and get out.'”

During the disciplinary preliminary investigation, she refused to accept copies of the case file and provided written explanations denying everything that occurred in the incident, instead claiming the resident had threatened and insulted her.

She also involved other residents in her defensive account, accusing them of making noise and preventing her from sleeping, resulting in mental and physical illness.

Additionally, she accused another resident in 2022 of remotely closing the garage door with his car’s remote control while she was entering with her vehicle, risking crushing her.

However, a preliminary examination concerning the garage door incident revealed that the resident she claimed tried to crush her did not even own a car, and the mentioned vehicle belonged to another resident.

Dismissals for delays Additionally, a Presiding Judge of a Court of First Instance was dismissed for professional incompetence, repeatedly committing disciplinary offenses and causing unjustified delays in fulfilling her duties.

The delays ranged from double to triple-digit numbers during judicial periods (50, 103, 105, 115, etc.), and lawyers had lodged complaints about significant delays.

Supreme Court Judge Eleni Theodorakopoulou stated that the Presiding Judge “even ignored the competent bodies of the Supreme Court, and despite warnings to reduce her backlog, she demonstrated indifference towards performing her duties, clearly and persistently showing professional incompetence, making her dismissal from the judiciary inevitable.”

A second Presiding Judge of a Court of First Instance was dismissed due to numerous delays. The head of the court where she served sent a letter to the Supreme Court’s Inspection Chief requesting intervention, as her behavior “caused insurmountable difficulties in the smooth operation of the Court.”

Judge Eleni Theodorakopoulou noted that the mentioned Presiding Judge “troubles litigants and lawyers who rightfully complain, as well as her own service, refusing to comply with relevant actions, consequently damaging the judiciary’s prestige severely.”

Another Judge of First Instance was dismissed for repeatedly committing disciplinary offenses due to unjustified delays from 2013 to 2024.

Specifically, his delays reached double-digit figures, and 35 cases had already been removed from his docket. Moreover, the local Bar Association sent a letter of complaint regarding delays to the Supreme Court President Ioanna Klapa.

According to Supreme Court Vice President Maria Koufoudi, “He has no awareness of his basic obligations as a judicial officer, has been stuck in permanent professional deadlock for an extended period, contributes minimal judicial work, repeatedly burdens his colleagues who fulfill their obligations, and undermines citizens’ trust in the Greek judiciary, who wait extensively for judgments, only to find their cases must be retried from scratch, further burdening litigants and lawyers who rightfully protest.”

Similarly, Supreme Court Judge Ekaterini Chondrorizou supported dismissing another Judge of First Instance for excessive and repeated delays, especially since 108 cases had been removed from his docket.

Two additional Judges of First Instance were also dismissed due to substantial delays.

Dismissal due to health Finally, an Appeals Court judge was dismissed due to health reasons. He had received lengthy medical leaves (146, 127 days, etc.) and had been placed on availability for two years due to a severe illness. Medical certifications confirmed he suffered from multiple psychological and physical illnesses.