Slow justice hampers growth
IMF report highlights the delays of the Greek judicial system and its economic consequences

An International Monetary Fund report puts the Greek judicial system in the dock, as, despite the reforms carried out in the country – some forced as bailout obligations, others by choice – it is still extremely slow, not at all modern, acting as a brake on development and attracting investment.
The time taken to adjudicate cases is more than three times the European average, so the number of cases reaching final judgment is consistently lower than that of cases brought to Greek courts.
According to official data, the time taken to process civil cases in first instance courts in Greece reaches 746 days, when the average in the 46 countries of the Council of Europe is 239 days. It can take 1,239 days for a case to reach final judgment in a Greek administrative court, when the European average is 234 days.
Is it because there are not enough judges? Quite the opposite. According to the IMF report “Enhancing Judicial System Efficiency in Greece: Drivers and Economic Impact,” this country has one of the highest ratios of judges per capita, while in 2022 compared to 2012 the number of judges increased by more than 60%, which is one of the highest increases in the European Union. In Greece in 2022 there were 37.3 judges per 100,000 inhabitants, up from 23.3 judges per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012, while the European average is 17.6 judges per 100,000 inhabitants, the same as in 2012.
What is wrong then? The limited penetration of out-of-court dispute resolution methods, the low degree of modernization, such as the use of digital media, of Greek courts, the small number of personnel, other than judges, employed in Greek courts, the system that does not allow for the specialization of judges – e.g. in bankruptcies – as well as the comparatively low fees, which do not act as a deterrent for litigious Greeks.
Even in cases where there is an improvement in legislation, such as the bankruptcy code, this remains ineffective due to the inadequacies of the judicial system, according to the IMF report.