According to information reported on 24 November by the association Children’s Health Defense headed by lawyer Robert Francis Kennedy Jr, the Greek Council of State – the highest administrative court in the country – ruled on the maintenance of the obligation of vaccination against Covid-19 for healthcare personnel: it declared the measure unconstitutional. This decision, which marks the end of 15 months of suspension without pay, echoes that of the German Ministry of Health, which should not renew the measure for the year 2023.
The decision of the Council of State: an infringement of fundamental rights that is too long and insufficient epidemiological data
The Hellenic Council of State is made up of seven judges: 6 of them voted in favor of the reinstatement of suspended caregivers requested by the National Association of Public Hospital Employees (a Greek hospital trade union body) in legal action brought on their behalf. For the institution, the extension of the vaccination mandate for 2023 has become unconstitutional. If the judges consider that the compulsory vaccination of certain categories of workers is constitutional, this measure does not remain so as long as it does not come into contradiction with the “principle of proportionality”.
This Greek Supreme Court has recognized that the health measures implemented in the context of the Covid-19 crisis constitute a serious violation of the following fundamental rights: freedom of personal development, freedom of movement and the right to respect for private life. On the other hand, according to the Council of State, these measures can only be constitutional if they remain applied within a necessary time interval and remain proportional to the threat represented by the health risk. Also, by its temporary nature, the severity and duration of this policy must be the subject of a timely reassessment by the competent authorities on the basis of the epidemiological data available and the latest credible scientific discoveries, she judges.
In the present case, the Court ruled that the obligation to vaccinate caregivers not only exceeded the framework of the reasonable duration, but also found that the health authorities had in no way carried out a review of the vaccination mandate imposed on the staff of health, while the scientific data currently available do not justify its extension.
Reactions from groups of caregivers and the government following the decision of the Council of State
The National Association of Public Hospital Employees welcomed the judges’ verdict: « The Council of State has risen to the occasion. We call on the Minister of Health to immediately issue an order for the execution of this decision. ».
This Tuesday, November 29, the Minister of Health Thanos Plevris indicated that he would bend reluctantly to this court decision: “The judgment will be implemented, even if in my opinion it is a dangerous decision for public health”, he told Mega TV. According to the latter, the decision taken a year ago to sideline 6,500 non-vaccinated employees should therefore be canceled from 1is January 2023, and maybe before.
For its part, the Association of Health Professionals for Democracy and Freedoms (SYDE) – one of the main collectives coordinating the actions of Greek caregivers suspended since September 2021 – also welcomed this decision, also recalling the link between this decision to suspend non-vaccinated health personnel and the government’s attempts to privatize the public hospital as part of its cost reduction policy. Launched on April 14, 2022, a project by the Greek Ministry of Health aimed to recruit new health professionals on fixed-term contracts. A hiring procedure whose likely objective was to replace suspended employees, to which the decision of the Council of State put an end.
The SYDE association made a point of declaring in a press release, relayed on November 25 by Children’s Health Defense, that the fight was not over: a bill falling within this process of privatization of the public health system will be submitted to Parliament this week.
“We will continue to fight for democracy, for dialogue, for the right of the opposition not to be ‘repressed’. We will continue to defend the ideals of our scientific discipline and the freedom […] We will be present in all battles for democracy and freedom. We call for the immediate execution of the decision of the Council of State, for the immediate reinstatement of our colleagues in their functions, for the immediate full reimbursement of salaries unfairly withheld. Don’t touch our lives, don’t touch the national health system! »
With regard to the reintegration of suspended health personnel in France, the National Rally has tabled a bill which could be placed on the agenda of its parliamentary niche on January 12.