The Ministry of Justice will introduce significant reforms to the Criminal Code. It will present a reform bill to the Parliament in the next few days. This bill includes plans to implement– long overdue – reforms, such as speeding up the delivery of justice, imposing harsher penalties for “serious crimes”, and punishing arsonists and perpetrators of fatal road accidents. Changes are also coming to the way the courts hand down sentences.

The justice minister Giorgos Floridis, stressed that “the sense of impunity must come to an end. An effort must be made slowly

so that people become aware that an illegal act will have a corresponding consequence, depending on its severity.”

“Today, you run a red light, kill two people, and nothing happens. People can break the law without consequences. If we continue

like this, society is bound to reach its limits and cannot function. People are tired. We want to put an end to all this.”

The updated Criminal Code will include stricter penalties for those who set fires by negligence and will cop three to five years in

prison. At the same time, arsonists may face life imprisonment. Trials for arson will be given priority, as offenders caught for dangerous – and, especially, fatal – road accidents will be given swift and heavy justice.

Offenders will be sentenced after quick trials.

The Ministry of Justice wants to end the constant postponements of trials, a significant problem in the Greek justice system.

From now on, only one postponement will be allowed for legal reasons. In contrast, a second postponement will be made possible only for certified medical reasons. The bill will introduce community service for those sentenced to minor misdemeanours, a standard practice in most Western countries.

Most importantly, the bill introduces severe penalties for offenders of sexual crimes. Currently, the sentence for rape is eight years,

but this new bill will raise the punishment to 20 years. The Ministry of Justice wants to provide legal protection to teachers, professors, counsellors, and doctors who report incidents of domestic violence that come to their attention. These professionals will now operate with immunity from prosecution. The bill will include a reporting obligation for professionals who become aware

of incidents of domestic violence in the course of their duties.