The disciplinary law governing police officers is regulated by a special legislative framework, as is also the case with the military personnel of the Armed Forces. The legislator treats police personnel as a special category of public servants and, as such, they are exempted from the ordinary disciplinary provisions of the Civil Servants Code. The disciplinary liability of police personnel is specifically regulated by Presidential Decree 120/2008, characteristically entitled “Disciplinary Law of Police Personnel”.
The principal disciplinary penalties imposed on police officers and recorded in their personal files are:
a) Dismissal from service.
b) Suspension with discharge for a duration of two (2) to six (6) months.
c) Suspension with temporary cessation of duties for a duration of fifteen (15) days to four (4) months.
d) Fine of up to three monthly basic salaries of the person being penalised.
e) Reprimand.
Dismissal and suspensions constitute the more severe, while the fine and reprimand the lesser disciplinary penalties. Disciplinary penalties are imposed irrespective of the service status in which the offender is placed.
Of particular note are the disciplinary offences that entail the penalty of dismissal, which are exhaustively listed below:
a) Acts indicating a lack of loyalty, respect and devotion to the Constitution and the Democratic Polity of the Country.
b) Acts that directly or indirectly undermine the legal order.
c) Acts constituting torture and other affronts to human dignity within the meaning of Article 137A of the Penal Code (PK).
d) Participation in any form of strike.
e) Disobedience or refusal to execute an order of a superior relating to a service duty.
f) Breach of professional confidentiality relating to national matters or the leaking of classified and top-secret documents of the Service.
g) The undignified use of police status for the purpose of contracting debts, for the benefit of oneself or third parties, which were not duly settled.
h) The commission or attempted commission of felony-grade offences and the commission or attempted commission of the offences of: Resistance (Article 167 PK), intentional release of a prisoner (Article 172 para. 1 PK), criminal organisation (Article 187 PK), counterfeiting (Article 207 PK), forgery (Article 216 PK), forgery of certificates (Article 217 PK), forgery and misuse of stamps (Article 218 PK), obtaining false certification by deception (Article 220 PK), suppression of documents (Article 222 PK), perjury (Article 224 PK), false unsworn deposition (Article 225 PK), false denunciation (Article 229 PK), harbouring a criminal (Article 231 PK), passive and active bribery (Articles 235-236 PK), abuse of power (Article 239 PK), false certification and falsification (Article 242 PK), oppression (Article 244 PK), breach of fiduciary duty in service (Article 256 PK), exploitation of entrusted goods (Article 257 PK), breach of duty (Article 259 PK), incitement of subordinates and acquiescence (Article 261 PK), intentional arson (Article 264 PK), exposure (Article 306 PK), failure to rescue from danger to life (Article 307 PK), slave trafficking (Article 323 PK), human trafficking (Article 323A PK), unlawful detention (Article 325 PK), detention contrary to the Constitution (Article 326 PK), unlawful violence (Article 330 PK), offences against sexual freedom and offences of economic exploitation of sexual life (Articles 336 to 353 PK), defamation (Article 363 PK), violation of the confidentiality of telephone calls and oral conversation (Article 370A PK), theft (Article 372 PK), embezzlement (ordinary and in service) (Articles 375, 258 PK), extortion (Article 385 PK), fraud (Article 386 PK), insurance-related fraud (Article 388 PK), receiving and disposing of proceeds of crime (Article 394 PK), usury (Article 404 PK), violations of the legislation on livestock theft, narcotics, aliens, antiquities and smuggling, as well as violations of the legislation on weapons and explosives, provided that the latter are punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of at least one (1) year.
i) The intentional commission of any offence directed against a superior and connected with the performance of service.
j) Unauthorised absence for five (5) consecutive days or ten (10) days in total within a year.
k) The use of narcotic substances or a propensity for the use of alcoholic beverages.
l) Conduct manifestly undignified or unworthy of a police officer, whether on or off duty, or conduct evidencing corruption of character.
m) Grave intentional breach of service duty.
n) Public criticism, oral or written, of the acts of the hierarchy expressed in offensive or derogatory terms; and
o) The provision of services consisting of the collection of information on behalf of third parties, or the guarding, custody or protection of persons or property.
The penalty of dismissal is also imposed in the case of the commission of a disciplinary offence that entails the penalty of suspension with discharge, where, within the preceding five-year period, the offender has been finally penalised either with that penalty or with two (2) penalties of suspension with temporary cessation of duties.
Disciplinary authority is exercised by the disciplinary councils, before which the appearance of legal counsel is permitted. Decisions of the first-instance disciplinary councils imposing a disciplinary penalty are served on the accused, who is entitled to lodge a petition before the second-instance disciplinary council. The decisions of the first-instance disciplinary councils become final and irrevocable if the deadline for lodging a petition lapses unused.
- See also article Administrative Law Lawyer
- See also article Town Planning & Forest Law Lawyer
- See also article Land and Monetary Contribution
- See also article Civil Service Law Lawyer
- See also article Military Disciplinary Law
- See also article Education Law Lawyer
- See also article Application for Annulment Lawyer
- See also article State Civil Liability Lawyer
- See also article Lawyer for Petition to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
- See also article Medical Negligence Lawyer
- See also article SYPOTHA – Unauthorised Construction
- See also article Fines for Unauthorised Construction – SYPOTHA – Administrative Court of Appeals
- See also article Annulment by the Council of State of a SYPOTHA Decision
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON DISCIPLINARY LAW FOR POLICE OFFICERS
1. What do I risk if disciplinary proceedings are pending against me?
Depending on the gravity of the offence, the penalties provided by Presidential Decree 120/2008 escalate from a reprimand and a fine of up to three basic salaries, to suspension with temporary cessation of duties for fifteen days to four months, suspension with discharge for two to six months and, in the most serious cases, dismissal. Dismissal is imposed only for the offences exhaustively listed in the decree or in the case of recidivism within a five-year period. The classification of the offence, the existence of mitigating circumstances and the prior service record play a decisive role in the final measure of the penalty.
2. What can I do against a decision of a disciplinary council?
A petition against the decision of the first-instance disciplinary council is lodged before the second-instance disciplinary council within the prescribed deadline from service of the decision. If the deadline lapses unused, the decision becomes final and irrevocable. At a subsequent stage, the final disciplinary decision is challenged by way of an application for annulment before the Council of State (StE), on grounds such as lack of jurisdiction of the body, breach of an essential procedural requirement, defective reasoning, violation of the rights to be heard and to mount a defence, or excess of the limits of discretionary power. In parallel, an application for suspension of execution may be filed in order that the penalty not be enforced pending the hearing.
3. Within what time frame must I act after service?
The deadlines are strict, and their lapse leads to forfeiture of the right of challenge. The petition before the second-instance disciplinary council must be lodged within the deadline set by law from service of the first-instance decision, while the application for annulment before the StE must, as a rule, be lodged within sixty days from service of the final disciplinary decision. Since each procedural act (summons to provide a defence statement, sworn examination, referral) triggers different procedural options, timely instruction of a lawyer is critical.
4. What documents are required for my defence?
The following are gathered: the summons to provide a defence statement, the rapporteur’s report, the administrative inquiry or the Sworn Administrative Inquiry (EDE) with all attached documents, any witness depositions, the decision of the disciplinary council together with proof of service, as well as the personal service file with previous commendations, distinguished service records and promotions. In addition, documents that refute the factual basis of the charge are utilised, along with medical certificates where applicable, attestations from superiors and any element that documents the character and service conduct of the accused.
5. What are the chances of overturning the penalty?
The chances depend on the specific elements of the case file. The disciplinary councils, and chiefly the StE, annul decisions where they find defective or non-existent reasoning, violation of the right to a prior hearing, failure to comply with the prescribed procedural guarantees, erroneous legal characterisation of the offence, or manifest disproportionality between the offence and the penalty. In several cases, mitigation of the penalty is achieved (e.g. from dismissal to suspension) or full acquittal. No prediction is reliable without an individualised study of the file.
6. What is the role of the lawyer in the disciplinary procedure?
The lawyer takes on the case from the stage of the administrative inquiry, drafts the defence memorandum, attends the examination of witnesses and represents the police officer before the first-instance and second-instance disciplinary councils. The lawyer prepares the petition, the application for annulment before the StE and the application for suspension of execution. Ziamparas D. & Associates handles disciplinary law cases for uniformed personnel, with an emphasis on establishing grounds for annulment, highlighting mitigating circumstances and protecting the professional career of the client.