Greece is continuing to record one of the worst performances in the European Union regarding the speed of its judicial system.
In 2024, the total time it took to adjudicate civil, commercial and administrative cases in first instance courts in Greece reached 638 days, compared to just 100 days on average in the EU, according to a new study by the Center for Liberal Studies (KEFIM) think tank.
The picture is particularly problematic in civil and commercial cases, where the resolution time reaches 737 days, as well as in consumer protection cases, which require an average of 1,643 days, or approximately 4.5 years to reach final judgement, says the study titled “An X-ray of Greek Justice According to EU Data.”
The data shows that, within a year, the resolution rate of pending civil and commercial cases decreased by a mere 11.8%, which means that “the system is unable to process all the new cases that arrive.”
Administrative justice continues to reduce its backlog, with the resolution rate remaining above 100%. In 2024, the most significant improvement is recorded in money laundering cases, whose average duration decreased by 89%. But in bribery cases the average duration increased by about 62% – from 356 days in 2023 to 576 days in 2024, while the average duration of proceedings before national competition authorities also increased, from 861 to 1,319 days.
