A change to Greece’s child custody laws, passed quietly just before Christmas, has drawn growing political and media attention after it emerged that the first person to use the new provision was a sitting cabinet minister involved in a divorce case.
The amendment was approved on Dec. 19 as part of a broad bill transferring OPEKEPE, the troubled state agency responsible for managing European Union agricultural subsidies, to Greece’s independent tax authority, AADE. Included among dozens of unrelated articles, the custody provision initially attracted little notice before becoming the focus of closer scrutiny.
The issue came into sharper focus with the involvement of Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni, who co-signed the bill while in the midst of contentious divorce proceedings with her former husband, music producer Minos Matsas. In late November, a first-instance court ruled that the couple would share joint custody of their twin children, denying a request for exclusive custody.
Shortly after the law came into effect, Kefalogianni became the first parent to invoke the new provision, prompting questions about the timing, scope and intent of the amendment.
What the new custody law changes
Under Greek law until now, a parent dissatisfied with a first-instance custody ruling could appeal the decision and wait for a higher court to rule, which is a process that can take months or longer. Repeated litigation at first instance was generally discouraged, and changes were allowed mainly when there were serious new circumstances affecting a child’s welfare.
The new amendment alters that framework.
It allows a parent who has already filed an appeal to return to the same first-instance court and request a temporary suspension or modification of the original custody decision until the appeal is heard. These requests are to be examined as a priority and judged on what the court considers to be the “best interests of the child.”
Supporters say the change aligns custody disputes with procedural rules already applied in other areas of Greek law. Critics argue it opens the door to repeated court battles, prolonging conflict and instability for children.
Why the timing raised alarms
The political fallout intensified when it became known that Kefalogianni herself had signed the bill that included the custody provision, and then made immediate use of it in her own family case.
Opposition parties and legal commentators described the amendment as “tailor-made,” questioning whether it served the public interest or specific private interests. Some also raised concerns about the constitutional and ethical implications of a lawmaker benefiting directly from a legislative change she helped pass.
The controversy has received extensive coverage in Greek media and sparked heated debate on social media with critics questioning whether the boundary between public policymaking and private interests has been crossed.
Government defends the amendment
Justice Minister Georgios Floridis rejected claims that the provision was rushed through or designed for a specific individual. Speaking on Greek television, he said the custody clause was one of many Justice Ministry articles included in the bill and had been discussed for weeks in parliamentary committees without objection.
“It is unfair to attribute this regulation onto one politician,” Floridis said, arguing that it applies to all citizens and expands legal protections for parents. He added that the amendment simply allows courts to suspend the enforcement of a contested decision until an appeal is decided – a mechanism he claimed was long available in other types of cases.
Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis echoed that defense, stressing that the law does not overturn Greece’s existing framework for joint custody, which was strengthened by reforms passed in 2021 to ensure both parents remain actively involved after separation or divorce.
Opposition backlash
Main opposition party PASOK said it voted against the provision when it was introduced, arguing that the measure appeared tailor-made for a specific case or rather benefiting a specific individual instead of serving a clear and general public purpose.
PASOK parliamentary spokesman Dimitris Mantzos said the regulation interferes with cases already before the courts and creates “a major moral and political issue” both for the tourism minister who used it and the justice minister who sponsored it.
Beyond the legal details, the episode has reignited a broader debate in Greece about legislative transparency and the practice of inserting sensitive provisions into large, unrelated bills.
