Greece’s government is moving ahead with a constitutional reform that will significantly reshape the country’s controversial framework governing the criminal liability of ministers.
At the center of the debate is Article 86 of the Constitution, a provision that has dominated public discussion for years and frequently sparked intense political confrontation. The article in question establishes a special procedure for investigating and prosecuting ministers for offenses allegedly committed while in office. Under the current system, Parliament holds decisive authority over whether investigations proceed, effectively giving lawmakers a monopoly over the process.
The government has decided that Article 86 should not be repealed. Its position is that a procedural safeguard must exist when dealing with political figures. The government argues that subjecting ministers to the same prosecutorial framework as private citizens would risk exposing elected officials to politically motivated investigations. Officials also point out that similar constitutional arrangements exist in many European countries.
However, while the special framework will remain, the government intends to alter its structure in ways that would substantially change how ministerial accountability operates in practice.
The most consequential reform that the government seems to be proposing would end Parliament’s exclusive control over investigations. Under the proposed model, a judicial formation composed of senior prosecutors and high-ranking judges would be established to examine accusations against political figures. This body would conduct the investigation and produce a formal finding, which would then be submitted to Parliament. Lawmakers would still make the final decision, but they would do so on the basis of a judicial conclusion.
In practical terms, the investigative function would move to the judiciary. Although Parliament would retain formal authority, it would be politically difficult for a governing majority to reject a well-founded judicial finding without compelling reasons. The reform would therefore place the burden of substantively examining evidence in the hands of senior judges, thus limiting the perception that political calculations determine whether cases move forward.
If prosecution is ultimately deemed warranted, the current framework would otherwise remain intact. Cases would continue to be referred to a Judicial Council and, if necessary, tried before a Special Court. The composition of that court would not change. It would continue to consist of senior judges drawn primarily from Greece’s Supreme Civil and Criminal Court and the Council of State, selected by lot by Parliament.
Another significant change under consideration concerns what is known in Greek legal practice as the “immediate referral” obligation. At present, when prosecutors encounter evidence implicating a minister while handling a broader case, they must immediately stop their inquiry and forward the file to Parliament. This automatic transmission has often led to files being sent to lawmakers without prior judicial assessment of their substantive merit.
The government is considering proposing the elimination of this automatic requirement. Under the new approach, judicial authorities would first evaluate the case before forwarding it to Parliament. The intention is to ensure that only cases with sufficient legal substance are transmitted, rather than any mention of a political figure triggering an immediate referral.
The government’s proposal is also expected to address other justice-related institutional issues, including the selection of the leadership of Greece’s highest courts. Currently, the Cabinet has constitutional authority to appoint senior judicial leaders, even though recent legislation allows plenary sessions of the top courts to express their opinion through a vote. The government’s proposal would require the government to choose from binding lists compiled by Parliament and by the highest courts themselves, thereby limiting executive discretion while maintaining the principle of democratic legitimacy. Proposals from judicial associations to let judges select their own leadership have been dismissed by the government, which says doing so would blur the basic democratic principle that power ultimately rests with elected officials.
Beyond ministerial liability and judicial leadership, the government’s broader constitutional revision proposal is expected to include provisions concerning fiscal discipline and a general framework for the oversight of artificial intelligence, as well as changes aimed at improving the functioning of constitutionally protected Independent Authorities. It may also codify at the constitutional level the president’s authority to convene a Council of Political Leaders and clarify the circumstances under which that power can be exercised.
For many Greeks, including those in the diaspora who closely follow institutional developments in their home country, Article 86 has long symbolized a tension between political protection and accountability. The government’s proposal seeks to recalibrate that balance. It preserves a distinct constitutional filter for ministers, while transferring the core investigative role to senior judges in an effort to strengthen credibility and public trust.
Whether these changes will secure the broad parliamentary consensus required for constitutional revision remains uncertain. What is clear is that, if adopted, the reform would mark one of the most consequential adjustments to Greece’s post-1975 constitutional order and to the way political responsibility is examined at the highest levels of government.
The government’s proposal also reaches into another sensitive institutional area: the operation of Greece’s constitutionally protected Independent Authorities, oversight bodies designed to function at arm’s length from the executive branch.
According to the government, the current requirement that their leadership be approved by a three-fifths parliamentary majority has, in practice, led to paralysis when political consensus cannot be reached. Two Independent Authorities have been operating with expired leadership mandates since 2022, and the term of the head of the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy expired in 2025.
In the forthcoming constitutional revision, the government is expected to propose lowering the threshold required in a third round of voting if the initial three-fifths majority cannot be secured. The new threshold would be lower than three-fifths but higher than a simple majority of 151 lawmakers, in an effort — as officials frame it — to prevent a single governing party from making appointments unilaterally while avoiding prolonged institutional deadlock.
The logic mirrors the 2019 constitutional change governing the election of the president of the Republic, which introduced a graduated voting system to prevent repeated parliamentary stalemates.
The reform package is also expected to include a constitutional provision formally defining when and how the president of the Republic may convene a Council of Political Leaders. That authority currently exists only at the statutory level. The government argues that codifying it in the Constitution, and clarifying the circumstances under which it may be exercised, would provide clearer institutional tools in moments of political tension requiring cross-party consultation.
Beyond that, the government does not appear inclined to expand the president’s powers more broadly, though discussions continue over whether the head of state could play a role in the selection of judicial leadership.
The proposed revision is also expected to introduce general constitutional language aimed at ensuring fiscal discipline. According to officials, the intent would be to establish a framework for budgetary responsibility without imposing rigid or inflexible constraints. Provisions outlining a constitutional framework for oversight of artificial intelligence are also under consideration.
Finally, the government is preparing to repeal more than 15 constitutional provisions it considers outdated, including detailed rules governing matters such as the retirement of notaries or specific regulations related to the journalistic profession. The stated aim is to streamline the constitutional text and remove provisions that, in the government’s view, no longer belong in a modern fundamental charter.
