This book attempts an anatomical overview of the judicial authority, highlighting its defining elements and the credibility of the justice it delivers. It is an anatomy that may be uncomfortable or even painful, as every anatomy that reveals a series of causes contributing to the ever-decreasing credibility of the judicial system in Greece.

In exploring these causes, the prevailing perception is that everyday life does not demonstrate the equality among the three branches that structure the state - legislative, executive, and judicial - depending, of course, on their institutional functional field as defined by the Constitution. Therefore, regarding the subject matter of this book, the institutional scope of the judicial authority is diminished, and its judicial function is severely questioned, due to the long-standing tradition of dominance by other branches, mainly the executive, to the detriment of the judiciary.

Under these conditions, the judicial system is tested, seeking its substantial connection with its institutional foundations: the constitution, supra-legislative provisions, international treaties, case law, theory, legal principles, and others, always with reference to Greece and internationally. At the same time, however, throughout this process, the judiciary is observed under the ongoing dominance of self-assured, mythologized, stereotypical perceptions and commonplaces, such as the notion that the independence of justice - meaning the independence of judges, of course - is self-evident; or that consciousness is considered, especially for judges, a prerogative and a safeguard of fair judgment, and so on. These qualitative aspects, which are sought in judicial decisions but are often found...