The Greek system of military justice is based on Article 96 of the constitution. Each branch of the armed forces has first-degree courts, and a single second-degree (appeals) court serves all three branches. In accordance with Article 406 of the Military Code of Justice, the appeals court has the power to hear cases referred to it and to annul decisions from lower courts.

All enlisted personnel (including conscripts) accused of criminal acts are tried by military courts, with specific exceptions cited in articles 247 and 248 of the Military Code of Justice. Those exceptions, which are tried by civil rather than military courts, include robberies, drug-related crimes, and embezzlement of more than million drachmas (for the value of the drachma--see Glossary).

In 1994 the Military Code of Justice was amended. Changes include lighter sentences for a variety of crimes, abolition of the death penalty for any act during peacetime, and a more balanced composition of military courts (now to be divided almost equally between military and civilian judges).

Data as of December 1994

NOTE: The information regarding Greece on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Greece MILITARY JUSTICE information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Greece MILITARY JUSTICE should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.