The lawyers’ strike is starting to wind down and looking towards June 17 to restart processing pending cases. The six month strike has dealt the justice system a daunting task, with the total number of pending cases that have been put on hold at 320,000.
The backlog created by this latest strike is only the tip of the iceberg. Preceding the strike over the past decade the justice system has accumulated a backlog of over 700,000 cases. Justice officials expect the extensive amount of open and pending cases to take anywhere from eight to ten years before they go to trial.
Another negative effect of the strike is that it only throws oil on the flame of the financial crisis that is gripping Greece. It dissuades foreign investment that the country desperately needs, as well as resulting in thousands of civil cases dealing with corruption and scandal being held up which ultimately deprives the state of revenues.
Although there is no easy solution to help dig the lawmakers out of the hole that they find themselves in, Kathimerini reports that some authorities are considering a “massive write-off” to help cope with the overload of cases.
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