The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic institution that represents the citizens through an elected body of Members of Parliament (MPs).
It is a unicameral legislature of 300 members, elected for a four-year term. From 1844–1863 and from 1927–1935, the parliament was bicameral with an upper house (the Senate; ) and a lower house (the Chamber of Deputies; ). Several important Greek statesmen have served as the speaker of the Hellenic Parliament.
History
Semi-constitutional monarchy, 1843–1862 The first national parliament of the independent Greek state was established in 1843, after the 3 September Revolution, which forced King Otto to grant a constitution. The constitution of 1844 established a semi-constitutional monarchy under the decisive power of the monarch, who exercised legislative power jointly with the elected house of representatives and the appointed senate. It also established the ministers' accountability vis-à-vis the acts of the monarch who was appointing and suspending them.
Constitutional monarchy, 1864–1909
In October 1862, a rising wave of discontent led the people and the military to rebel again against King Otto and oust him along with the Wittelsbach dynasty. The revolt marked the beginning of a new dynasty, with George Christian Wilhelm of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Glücksburg dynasty as monarch. The constitution of 1864 created a single-chamber (unicameral) parliament, elected for a four-year term, and abolished the senate. Moreover, the king preserved the right to convoke ordinary and extraordinary parliamentary sessions, and dissolve parliament at his discretion, as long as the cabinet signed and endorsed the dissolution decree.See Greek Constitution of 1864 With the revisions of 1911 and 1952, it lasted more than a century; one of its most important elements was the restoration of the principle of popular sovereignty.
Constitution of 1927 The constitution of 1927 made provisions for a head of state that the parliament and the Senate would elect to serve a five-year term. This "President of the Republic" would be held unaccountable from a political point of view; he would not possess any legislative powers and could only dissolve the parliament with the senate's approval. It also recognized the status of political parties as organic elements of the polity and established their proportional representation in the composition of parliamentary committees.See Greek Constitution of 1927
This reform of the constitution is also a part of the Second Hellenic Republic, in reference to the Greek state using a republican democracy as a form of governance. This constitutional change was initiated in January 1924 and ratified on 13 April 1924 by the fourth national assembly.
1952–1967 Following World War II, the development of parliamentary institutions resumed in 1948 and in the beginning of the 1950s. The constitution of 1952 consisted of 114 articles and to a large extent was strongly attached to the constitutions of 1864 and 1911. Its central innovations were the explicit institutionalization of parliamentarianism and the consolidation for the first time of the voting rights of women, as well as of their right to stand as candidates for parliamentary office. In February 1963 the government of Konstantinos Karamanlis submitted a proposal for an extensive revision of the constitution, yet the proposal was never put into practice because only a few months after its submission, the government resigned and parliament dissolved.
Constitutional revisions of 1986, 2001 and 2008 Greece's current constitution has been revised three times, with the first one taking place in 1986, when the responsibilities of the president were significantly curtailed. In 2001, a very extensive revision took place as a total of 79 articles were amended. The new, revised constitution introduced new individual rights, such as the protection of genetic data and identity or the protection of personal data from electronic processing, and new rules of transparency in politics (on political party financing, electoral expenditures, the relations of media owners with the state, etc.). It modernized parliamentary functions, propped up decentralization, elevated the status of fundamental independent authorities into constitutional institutions, and adopted its provisions on MPs' disqualifications and incompatibilities to current reality after taking into consideration the Special Highest Court's case law. The most recent revision took place in 2008 and introduced several reforms and amendments; it abrogated professional incompatibility and as for growth and development measures extending on insular and mountainous areas, the central administration now assumed special responsibility thereof. It also bestowed the parliament with the power to proceed with proposals should certain preconditions apply, to amend the budget as well as an ad hoc procedure for the Parliament to oversee the budget's implementation.
Composition, election and tenure Composition The Greek parliament currently has 297 members, following a decision by the Special Highest Court to strip three far-right Spartan MPs deputies of their parliamentary seats. Although the constitution does not determine the total number of parliamentarians, it does stipulate that there shall be no less than two hundred (200) or no more than three hundred (300),The Constitution of Greece, Article 51, paragraph 1 and since 1952 their number has been set to 300.Law 2228/1952 MPs are elected for a four-year term through a system of so called 'reinforced' proportional representation (a conditional plurality bonus system) in 56 constituencies, 48 of which are multi-seat and 8 single-seat.Law 3231/2004
Election Of the 300 seats, 250 are always elected proportionally, with voters selecting the candidate (or candidates depending on the size of the constituency) of their choice by marking their name on the party ballot. If the party with the most votes receives 25% or more of the vote, a bonus is distributed: The party list coming first with at least 25% of the votes would receive 20 extra seats, with one more seat for every half percentage point above 25%, to a maximum of 50 extra seats at 40% (or more) of the votes. Once this bonus has been attributed, the proportional distribution begins for the remaining seats, which can range from 250 if one party gathered at least 40%, to 300 if no party reached 25%. This 2020 law has been in effect since the June 2023 Greek parliamentary election.
All Greek citizens aged 25 or over on the date of the election are eligible to sit in parliament, provided they are eligible to vote and do not fall under any of the disqualification criteria provided by the constitution.The Constitution of Greece, Article 55, paragraph 1 With the exception of university professors, public servants (including members of the Armed Forces) are barred from running for parliament, unless they permanently resign their office before promulgation.The Constitution of Greece, Article 56
Parliamentary groups Οnce MPs assume office, they form parliamentary groups. A parliamentary group in the Hellenic Parliament should consist of at least ten MPs who are members of the same party.Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Article 15, paragraph 1 Five MPs should also suffice provided the party they belong to had ballots in at least two thirds (2/3) of the constituencies and got at least three percent (3%) of the total number of valid ballots in the country.Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Article 15, paragraph 2 Provided they are an elected MP, a party leader presides over the respective parliamentary group.Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Article 17, paragraph 1 They may appoint up to two substitutes, though the president of the largest parliamentary group, the one which is actually in government, as well as the president of the major opposition party, may appoint up to three substitutes each.Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Article 17, paragraph 2 There are parliament premises meant for the exclusive use of parliamentary groups and independent MPs and parliamentary groups have their own administrative secretariats composed of revocable personnel. Surface area, number of offices, and the number of revocable staff working for parliamentary groups depend on their respective size and electoral strength.Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Articles 18-19 The president of the parliamentary group with the second highest proportion of MPs, i.e. head of the political party that is not in government, is referred to as the leader of the major opposition, and enjoys special prerogatives, such as extra time to speak before the assembly.Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Article 20
Tenure Members of parliament are immune from criminal prosecution, arrest or detention while in office,The Constitution of Greece, Article 62 with the exception of crimes committed in flagrante delicto.The Constitution of Greece, Article 6, paragraph 1 and Article 62 They are also immune from having to provide any information to any authority regarding their legislative functions and deliberations. However, both the constitution and the standing orders allow for the Public Prosecutor's Office to request the parliament to lift an MP's immunity for a particular crime, with MPs deciding through open balloting.The Constitution of Greece, Article 86; Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Articles 144-148 Alleged crimes committed by members of the cabinet (including non-MPs) or the president of the republic are first investigated by an ad hoc parliamentary committee, with MPs then voting on the committee's recommendations. Should parliament determine that there is sufficient evidence for prosecution, an ad hoc special court is set up.The Constitution of Greece, Article 86, paragraph 4; Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Articles 144–148
Plenum
The plenum is composed of all 300 MPs elected in the general elections,Standing Orders of the Hellenic Parliament, Article 21, paragraph 1 which are normally held every four yearsThe Constitution of Greece, Article 53, paragraph 1 unless the parliament is dissolved at an earlier date.The Constitution of Greece, Article 41 The plenum must convene within 30 days from the date of the general election. The period for regular plenary session starts on the first Monday in October of each year and cannot last less than five months.The Constitution of Greece, Article 64 The interval between two elections is called a parliamentary term.The Constitution of Greece, Article 53 Consecutive parliamentary terms have been listed on a continuous number sequence since 1975 with the present being the 20th parliamentary term. Parliament holds regular Sessions during a parliamentary term, and there may also be extraordinary and special sessions.The Constitution of Greece, Article 66