{"id":4585,"date":"2026-08-12T10:02:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T07:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/?p=4585"},"modified":"2026-08-12T10:02:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T07:02:39","slug":"on-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/?p=4585","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0ON JUSTICE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Lieutenant General (Ret.) K. H. Konstantinidis<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plato<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan you really find any greater proof of the shameful upbringing of the citizens of a city than the fact that it needs competent judges and physicians, not only for the wicked and the badly brought up, but also for those who pretend that they have been raised in a noble manner, as befits free men?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or does it not seem to you a shameful thing, and the greatest proof of lack of education, that a man should be compelled to resort to justice imposed upon him by others\u2014so to speak, by judges and masters\u2014and should not have justice within himself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed,\u201d he said, \u201cthat is the worst of all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSurely,\u201d I said, \u201cyou will agree that there is something even more shameful, something which I am about to tell you: that a man not only spends the greater part of his life either as plaintiff or defendant, but is so insensitive that he even believes he should be admired for being clever at injustice\u2014for knowing all the tricks and evasions, for twisting and turning and slipping away like an eel so that he may not be caught by the grasp of justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what is worse, he does not know how to appreciate how much nobler and better it is to arrange his life in such a way that he has no need of any sleepy judge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndeed,\u201d he replied, \u201cthat is even more shameful than the former.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commentary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our ancestors, too, had problems with justice, and even today, despite the development of technology, we have not managed to improve the situation substantially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Justice, as a cornerstone of democratic government, also reflects the quality of our democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most serious problems concerning the administration of justice are the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Delays in the adjudication of cases<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long period required before a final judgment is issued is one of the most serious problems. Delays can substantially diminish the value of judicial protection itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The large volume of cases<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courts are burdened with a very large number of cases, making it difficult for judges and court staff to respond in a timely manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Shortages of personnel and infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges alone are not enough. There must be sufficient court personnel, modern administrative services, adequate technical equipment, and suitable court facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Complexity of legislation \u2014 Overlegislation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The frequent amendment of laws and the multitude of legal provisions make the legal framework difficult to understand and apply. Anyone who has ever become involved in a legal dispute will know this better than anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Bureaucracy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procedures that could be completed quickly still, in many cases, require numerous stages and documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. The cost of access to justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawyers\u2019 fees, court costs, and the long duration of legal proceedings can make the pursuit of justice difficult for financially weaker citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Difficulties in enforcing judgments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issuing of a court decision does not always mean that a citizen will actually obtain justice quickly in practice. Effective enforcement is an essential part of the administration of justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. The need for greater digitalization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic filing, digital access to case files, and faster electronic communication can significantly reduce delays and bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. The need to maintain citizens\u2019 trust<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice must not only be independent and impartial; it must also be seen to be independent, impartial, and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Balancing speed and quality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A speedy decision is not enough. A judgment must be properly reasoned, fair, and consistent with the law. Therefore, the objective should not simply be \u201cfast justice,\u201d but rather \u201ctimely and high-quality justice.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Citizens must learn to live within the law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citizens should learn to live within the law so that they do not need\u2014as Plato says\u2014to resort to the courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a single sentence: the great challenge is for Justice to be at the same time independent, impartial, accessible, high-quality, and timely.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet every political party that comes to power attempts to control the judiciary so that it can commit injustices without being held accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If even one of these elements is missing, the citizen\u2019s judicial protection is weakened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(11 August 2026)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Konstantinos Konstantinidis<\/strong>
Author \u2013 Member of the Society of Greek Literary Writers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amphiktyon Blog:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.amphiktyon.blogspot.com<\/a>
Amphiktyon Official Site:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.amphiktyon.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Lieutenant General (Ret.) K. H. Konstantinidis Plato \u201cCan you really find any greater proof of the shameful upbringing of the citizens of a city than the fact that it needs competent judges and physicians, not only for the wicked and the badly brought up, but also for those who pretend that they have been … <\/p>\n

\u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c7\u03af\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 ”\u00a0ON JUSTICE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4586,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4585\/revisions\/4586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}