For the first time in history, elections will be held in Greece’s three highest courts in early June, where top judges will vote to pre-select candidates for the highest positions in the judicial hierarchy. This voting process follows the recently enacted Floridis Law, which provides for the pre-selection of judges and prosecutors eligible for promotion by their peers. Ballot boxes will be set up at the Court of Cassation (Areios Pagos), the Council of State, and the Court of Audit.

At the end of June, 37 high-ranking judges and prosecutors, including Ioanna Klapa (President of the Court of Cassation) and Georgia Adeilini (Prosecutor), will retire after completing their terms.

Under the new amendment passed in Parliament, ballots from the Administrative Plenums of the three courts will be used to pre-select candidates for the following positions: the President and Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, 11 Vice Presidents and 9 Deputy Prosecutors of the Court of Cassation, 4 Vice Presidents of the Council of State, and 1 Vice President of the Court of Audit. All members of the courts are eligible to vote, regardless of whether they are retiring on June 30.

On June 3, the Plenums of the Court of Cassation and its Prosecutor’s Office will meet behind closed doors to conduct secret ballots for the pre-selection of candidates to fill upcoming vacancies. The Administrative Plenum will begin the process by selecting candidates from among the 10 most senior judges and deputy prosecutors.

To be valid, ballots must include between 3 and 5 candidate selections for President of the Court of Cassation, and exactly 3 for Prosecutor. Ballots not meeting these criteria will be deemed invalid.

Once voting for President is completed, the envelopes will remain sealed until the Prosecutor’s Office holds its vote for candidates to fill the Prosecutor’s position. The votes will then be counted, and the results forwarded to the Minister of Justice.

In the Council of State (CoS):
The date for the Plenum meeting is to be scheduled soon, as President Michalis Pikramenos was abroad for official duties. Pre-selection for 4 Vice President positions will follow seniority with minimal deviations. The top candidates by seniority are Vasilis Aravantinos, Olga Zygoura, Varvara Raftopoulou, Konstantina Filopoulou, Dimitrios Makris, Taxiarchia Komvou, Paraskevi Braimi, and Sofia Vitali.

In the Court of Audit:
President Sotiria Ntouni has yet to announce the Plenum meeting date. Eligible voters include the President, General Commissioner, Commissioners, and Deputy Commissioners. Notable candidates for Vice President include Georgios Voilis and Court Spokesperson Dimitrios Peppas.

Final Decision:
The names pre-selected by each court’s Plenum will be submitted to the Speaker’s Conference of Parliament by the Minister of Justice. Parliament will then review and give its opinion, including the number of votes each candidate received. Based on this, the Minister will propose promotions to the Cabinet, which has the final say on appointments to the top of the judicial hierarchy.