Key facts
- Greece's Supreme Court of Cassation rejected an appeal by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).
- The EPPO had sought to annul a ruling that limited the terms of three Greek European Delegated Prosecutors to two years.
- The court ruled that the EPPO lacked the legal standing to appeal the domestic decision.
- The decision was supported by a large majority of the court's members.
Greece's Supreme Court of Cassation, known as the Areios Pagos, has dismissed an appeal lodged by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), led by Laura Kövesi. The appeal challenged a decision by the Supreme Judicial Council for Civil and Criminal Justice to limit the terms of three Greek European Delegated Prosecutors to two years, instead of the five years the EPPO College had decided for renewals across member states.
The court ruled that the EPPO did not have the legal standing to appeal the domestic decision, as Greek legislation grants this right only to judges and prosecutors themselves under specific conditions not met in this case. The decision was made in a closed session with 72 members voting to dismiss the appeal and 10 against.
EPPO's representative, constitutional law professor Spyros Vlachopoulos, argued for the primacy of EU law and uniform application of EPPO College decisions, warning that country-specific discrepancies would undermine the institution's unity. A minority within the court supported the EPPO's position on standing and competence.