History and Tradition

The Legal Council of the State is the supreme collective advisory body of the Hellenic State and its principal legal representative before the courts. Its history is closely connected with the institutional and administrative development of the modern Greek State.

Unlike several other judicial and administrative institutions introduced in Greece during the early years of the Kingdom, the Legal Council of the State was not simply transplanted from a foreign legal model. It gradually took shape through successive institutional reforms, responding to the practical need for the effective defense of the public interest and the legal interests of the State.

The first steps towards the creation of the Legal Council of the State were taken shortly after the establishment of the modern Greek State. Under the Royal Decree of 12/24 May 1835, the representation of the State before the courts was entrusted primarily to the Secretary of State for Finance, who could appoint suitable officials or lawyers for that purpose.

In 1839, an Economic Council was established, but it proved short-lived and was abolished in 1842. A more significant development followed in 1843, with the creation of a committee responsible for advising on litigation involving the State. This committee is generally regarded as the first institutional precursor of the Legal Council of the State. Its role was to assist the Minister of Finance in deciding whether litigation should be initiated or continued, so that only cases based on law and justice would be brought before the courts.

Further attempts were made to improve the legal representation of the State. In 1856, salaried lawyers of the State were introduced for the first time, entrusted not only with court representation but also with the provision of legal opinions. Although this system was soon abolished, it marked an important step towards a more organized legal service.

A decisive development came with Law ΡΛΓ/1867, which established the post of Judicial Adviser at the Ministry of Finance. The Judicial Adviser headed the Judicial Department of the Ministry, issued legal opinions, represented the State before the courts and supervised the appointment of lawyers acting on behalf of the State. This office became a key institutional foundation for the later formation of the Legal Council of the State.

The year 1882 marks the formal beginning of the Legal Council of the State in a form closer to its modern structure. On the proposal of Judicial Adviser Michail Tatarakis, Minister Pavlos Kalligas submitted a bill providing for Legal Advisers assigned to all Ministries, while also forming a collective advisory body for legal issues arising in public administration.

Law ΑΚΑ΄/1882 “On Legal Advisers” created seven posts of Legal Advisers, in addition to the Judicial Adviser at the Ministry of Finance. These Legal Advisers were entrusted with two main functions: representing the State and the property of the Ecclesiastical Fund before the courts, and issuing legal opinions on matters concerning public administration.

The new institution operated as a collective body under the chairmanship of the Judicial Adviser. Its opinions covered legal issues arising in the Ministries, as well as matters concerning the settlement or discontinuance of litigation. Court cases involving the State were prepared collectively, thereby strengthening the consistency and effectiveness of State representation.

During the following decades, further legislation regulated the organization, staffing and operation of the Legal Council of the State. Legal Advisers served in Ministries, assisted by legal and administrative personnel, while State representation in the provinces was gradually organized through judicial representatives and appointed lawyers.

An important milestone was the Legislative Decree of 19 November 1935 “On the Legal Council of the State”, which recognized the Legal Council of the State as a supreme State function directly attached to the Minister of Finance. The title of Judicial Adviser was replaced by that of President of the Legal Council of the State, while posts of Assistant Members were also established. This reform further consolidated the institutional status of the Legal Council and laid the groundwork for its subsequent development.

During this period, the Legal Council of the State also exercised certain functions of an administrative court, including jurisdiction over specific tax-related appeals. This dual advisory and quasi-judicial role reflects the broad institutional importance of the Council in the legal and administrative life of the Greek State.

The period from 1940 to 1982 was decisive for the institutional consolidation of the Legal Council of the State.

Its present name, “Legal Council of the State”, was introduced by Legislative Decree 2374/1940, which reorganized the institution as a unified supreme service within the State administration. The decree defined its main responsibilities as the judicial defense of the interests of the State, the provision of legal opinions to guide the Administration, the recognition of claims against the State and the settlement of disputes involving the State.

The same legislation also regulated the operation of the Legal Council of the State as a collective body, providing for meetings in Plenary Session and in Sections. It introduced a structured hierarchy for its principal legal staff and strengthened the organization of State legal representation both centrally and in the provinces.

A particularly important development followed in 1945. After the destruction of the offices of the Legal Council during the events of December 1944, Legislative Decree 427/1945 re-established the institution on a more complete and independent basis. The Legal Council of the State was henceforth recognized as an independent and supreme State authority, headed by its President and staffed by Vice-Presidents, Legal Advisers, Assistant Legal Advisers and Judicial Representatives.

This reform gave the institution many of the essential characteristics it retains today. It established entry into the body mainly through competitive examination, restored Legal Advisers’ Offices in the Ministries, entrusted the Council with the handling of cases abroad, and strengthened its independence from the Administration. It also added to its responsibilities the examination of draft laws and decrees referred to it.

The following decades saw further legislative refinements. The institutional framework created in 1945 was amended and supplemented by subsequent laws in 1951, 1953 and 1957. These reforms confirmed the Legal Council of the State as a unified supreme authority within the State structure and further regulated the powers of its members to act as legal representatives of the State before the courts.

A new stage began with the Organic Law of the Legal Council of the State of 1961. With this Organic Law — the longest-standing in the history of the Legal Council of the State — the Council’s competences, organizational structure and mode of operation were codified, defined and clarified.

The Law expressly set out its principal competences: defending the interests of the State before the courts, issuing legal opinions to guide the Administration, recognizing claims and settling disputes, examining draft legislation and advising on the submission of State disputes to arbitration.

The 1961 Organic Law also described in greater detail the role of the President, the Plenary Session, the Chambers, the Central Service, the Legal Advisers’ Offices in the Ministries, the Judicial Offices and the State lawyers acting in the provinces. It reinforced the collective character of the Council’s advisory and litigation work and placed the status of its principal legal staff on a level comparable to that of judicial officers.

During the same period, the competences of the Legal Council of the State were gradually extended to important public entities and services, including the Deposits and Loans Fund, the Postal Savings Bank, the Agricultural Insurance Organization, the Social Insurance Institute and the University of Athens. New Judicial Offices were also established in several cities, strengthening the Council’s presence throughout the country.

By 1982, despite practical difficulties and shortages in staff, the Legal Council of the State had acquired a mature and coherent institutional form. It had developed into an independent, specialized and highly organized legal body, providing legal assistance to the Administration and effectively defending the interests of the Hellenic State before the courts.

In 1982, one hundred years after the first operation of the Legal Council of the State as a collective body, the institution underwent a major and unexpected change. By Article 10 of Law 1256/1982, the Legal Council of the State was abolished as an authority and as a body, and its functions were transferred to the so-called “Legal Services of the Administration”. It is noteworthy that, in most instances, it continued to be referred to as the “Legal Council of the State” or the “former Legal Council of the State”, and only rarely as the “Legal Services of the Administration”.

This reform created significant organizational difficulties in the handling of litigation involving the State and in the overall defense of the public interest. The new framework was introduced without a fully developed alternative model for the operation of the State’s legal services, and a series of ministerial decisions was subsequently required in an attempt to address the practical problems that arose.

Despite this institutional disruption, the members of the former Legal Council of the State continued to perform their duties with dedication and professionalism. From 1985 onwards, the Legal Services of the Administration were placed under the Ministry of Justice. In practice, however, the institution continued to be widely referred to as the Legal Council of the State, or the former Legal Council of the State, reflecting the strength of its tradition and institutional identity.

During this difficult period, an important and innovative initiative emerged from within the institution. Around 1985, before the widespread use of computers and the internet in Greece, Judicial Representative Nikolaos Tzortzopoulos began developing electronic methods for the needs of a legal journal published within the institution. This effort led to the creation of LEX, the first legal information database in Greece, which initially included opinions of the Legal Council of the State and case law of Greek courts, and later European Union case law.

This pioneering initiative eventually contributed to the development of NOMOS, the first comprehensive legal information database in Greece. NOMOS has since provided valuable services to the legal community, including lawyers, judges, public authorities and legal practitioners more broadly.

The period 1982–1990 was therefore marked by institutional uncertainty, but also by continuity, resilience and technological innovation. It confirmed the enduring role of the Legal Council of the State as a specialized legal institution serving the Administration and defending the interests of the Hellenic State.

In 1990, the Legal Council of the State was re-established by Article 39 of Law 1884/1990 as a unified supreme authority of the State, directly attached to the Minister of Finance. This reform repealed the provisions that had abolished the institution in 1982 and restored most of the organizational framework that had previously governed its operation.

The re-establishment of the Legal Council of the State marked the return to its collective mode of operation, especially in the exercise of its advisory functions through the Plenary Session and the Sections. The status of its principal legal staff was again aligned with that of judicial officers, while provisions concerning their service and disciplinary status were reinstated.

From the time of its re-establishment, the Legal Council of the State resumed its role as a key institution for the legal protection of the interests of the Hellenic State and the legal guidance of the Administration. Its competences were gradually expanded in response to the increasing needs of State legal representation in a modern legal environment.

A particularly important development came in 1991, when the Legal Council of the State was entrusted with the judicial representation of the Hellenic Republic before the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the European Commission of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights and other courts and judicial authorities of the Member States of the European Community. This reflected the need for unified and specialized representation of the Greek State before European and international judicial bodies.

In 1993, a Legal Adviser’s Office was established at the Permanent Representation of Greece to the European Communities, further strengthening the Council’s role in matters of European law.

The period also saw important developments in the internal evolution of the institution. In 1991, Kostoula Iliakopoulou became the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Legal Adviser of the State, after many years of service to the Legal Council of the State.

In 1996, a new Organization of the Legal Council of the State was issued by Presidential Decree 282/1996. It redefined the Council’s competences, structure and internal organization, as well as the service status of its principal legal staff. It also regulated the Central Service, the Legal Advisers’ Offices, the Judicial Offices and the specialized formations responsible for domestic, European and foreign cases.

A landmark in the history of the Legal Council of the State was its constitutional recognition through the 2001 revision of the Constitution. Article 100A of the Constitution expressly provided for the organization and operation of the Legal Council of the State, as well as for the service status of its legal officers and staff. It also identified its core competences, including the judicial support and representation of the State, the recognition of claims against the State and the settlement of disputes involving the State.

Following this constitutional recognition, Law 3086/2002 and Presidential Decree 238/2003 established the new legal framework for the organization and operation of the Legal Council of the State. For almost twenty years, this framework regulated the Council’s functions, competences and personnel status.

Under this framework, the Legal Council of the State was confirmed as a unified supreme authority of the State, directly attached to the Minister of Finance. Its mission included, among others, the judicial support and representation of the State, the issuing of legal opinions to the Administration, the recognition of claims against the State, judicial and out-of-court settlements, advice on arbitration, legal support in the preparation of contracts, legislative drafting assistance, and representation of the Hellenic Republic before the European Court of Human Rights and the bodies of the Council of Europe.

During this period, the Legal Council of the State consolidated its constitutional and institutional position as the central legal body of the Hellenic State, combining litigation, advisory, legislative-support and European-law functions.

The preparation for a new phase in the history of the Legal Council of the State began in 2019. Two major objectives were pursued: the adoption of a new Organization for the Council and the launch of its digital transformation.

The digital transformation aimed to modernize the Council’s Integrated Information System, upgrade its security and operational features, and provide enhanced digital services to citizens, businesses, public bodies and other persons dealing with the Legal Council of the State.

Important digital reforms were gradually introduced. These included the electronic submission of out-of-court applications, the paperless management of cases, the electronic circulation of documents between the Central Service and other units of the Council, the automated transmission of pleadings and documents by email through the Integrated Information System, the creation of digital files for legal officers, and the use of digital signatures within the system.

This transformation was designed to improve efficiency, strengthen cooperation with public authorities and courts, enhance digital services to the public, support regional units of the Council and produce reliable statistical data for strategic planning and decision-making.

In 2021, almost twenty years after the adoption of Law 3086/2002, a new Organization of the Legal Council of the State was enacted by Law 4831/2021. Its purpose is to ensure the faster and more effective operation of the Council and the provision of high-level, specialized legal services to the State and to the other bodies represented by it.

The new Organization introduced a modernized structure and operating model. Its main innovations include the establishment of thematic formations for the unified, specialized and more efficient handling of similar categories of cases, as well as a more vertically integrated mode of operation. At the same time, the Legal Advisers’ Offices in the Ministries are intended to focus primarily on their advisory and consultative role.

The new framework reflects the transition of the Legal Council of the State into a modern, outward-looking and digitally oriented institution, serving the State, the Administration, its own personnel and society more effectively.

The Legal Council of the State is the supreme collective advisory body of the Hellenic State and its principal legal representative before the courts. Its history is closely connected with the institutional and administrative development of the modern Greek State.

Unlike several other judicial and administrative institutions introduced in Greece during the early years of the Kingdom, the Legal Council of the State was not simply transplanted from a foreign legal model. It gradually took shape through successive institutional reforms, responding to the practical need for the effective defense of the public interest and the legal interests of the State.

The Legal Council of the State is the supreme collective advisory body of the Hellenic State and its principal legal representative before the courts. Its history is closely connected with the institutional and administrative development of the modern Greek State.

Unlike several other judicial and administrative institutions introduced in Greece during the early years of the Kingdom, the Legal Council of the State was not simply transplanted from a foreign legal model. It gradually took shape through successive institutional reforms, responding to the practical need for the effective defense of the public interest and the legal interests of the State.