Legal formalism

Archival note:The text comes from the old Legal Selectmen's archive and has been carefully preserved for historical and informative reading.

After finding that the country is strangled by bureaucracy [see discussion in Nomika Epilekta: "Greece: the bastion of bureaucracy" and the article "The Greek Bureaucracy - The Revolution That Never Happened"] and destroys the incompetence of the administration (which does not fulfill its mission), due to indifference, inaction, impunity, hyperinflation, arrogance, incredible corruption and incompetence of public servants, the minister of "administrative reform and e-government" drafted the circular below, which, on the one hand on the one hand, it indirectly describes the monstrous bureaucracy and the dominance of useless and stupid endorsements, certificates, attestations and supporting documents and, on the other hand, it attempts to bring some order to the administrative chaos. Therefore, even a simple reading of the circular is useful for those who certainly have the patience and endurance to be informed about the way to defend against bureaucracy, which, too, is a bureaucratic and complex way, rewarding the stupidity and antics of the state apparatus. In other words, we found it useful to copy and publish the circular, which was issued in Athens with the details: "No. prot.: DISKPO/F.18/ok.6190/12.03.2012", with the title "Rights of citizens and businesses in their dealings with public services» and dated March 12, 2012. GREEK REPUBLIC
MINISTRY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM AND ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE
GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF ADMINISTRATION
OF ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES Tach. Address: Vas. Sofias 15
Tach. Code: 106 74, Athens
Information:
For the Directorate of State-Citizen Relations:
Michalis Karahalios, Michalis Voskakis,
Panagiota Aliferi, Elli Simatou, Yiannis Diniakos,
(tel.: 213-1313102, -104, -103, -106, -113)
For the Simplification of Procedures Directorate and
Productivity:
Nikos Archontas, Antonis Theodorou, Konstantinos
Kazakou, Marina Saraki, Sofia Papamattheiou
Eleni Kontomina, Harris Katsouli
(tel. 213-1313136, -040, -154, -155, -152, -126,-163) SUBJECT: "Rights of citizens and businesses in their dealings with public services". The Ministry of Administrative Reform and E-Government, as part of its efforts to provide faster and more efficient service to citizens and businesses in their daily dealings with the Administration, has established the appropriate institutional framework and has set up services and control bodies to ensure the rights of citizens in their dealings with public services. Because a condition for citizens to exercise their rights is to know them, both themselves and the civil servants with whom they deal, and because the provisions concerning citizens' rights are numerous and scattered in laws and regulatory acts and the services and control bodies that serve the public constitute a complex mechanism, we deemed it necessary to make this circular known to citizens and to send to all public services, which summarizes the basic rights of citizens and businesses in their dealings with the State. Specifically, the circular includes the following sections: UNIT

CONTENT

A. REQUESTS TO THE ADMINISTRATION B.

DEADLINES FOR HANDLING CITIZEN CASES BY THE ADMINISTRATION

C. CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINAL SIGNATURE D. VALIDATION OF COPIES OF DOCUMENTS E. CITIZEN SERVICE CENTERS (KEP) F ENSURING TRANSPARENCY AND INFORMATION G. SIMPLIFICATION OF PROCEDURES In particular, in this context and with a view to the uniform and uniform application of the current legislation and the imperative need to improve the service to citizens, we point out, in detail, the following: A. REQUESTS TO ADMINISTRATION With the provisions of article 3 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (Law 2690/1999, as applicable), it is defined that an application by the interested party, for the issuance of an administrative act, is required when provided for by the applicable legislation. For the convenience of those concerned, application forms are used, which are compulsorily issued by the public authorities, for all matters falling within their competence. In these forms, in a special area, e.g. on the back page or in a box, the conditions provided by the law for the satisfaction of the request, the applicable provisions, the supporting documents that the interested party must provide, as well as the time within which the answer will be given must be mentioned.Forms are a means of two-way communication between citizens - administration and administration - citizens, so their design, the elements they include, as well as the terminology used in them, must favor this communication. If the person concerned declares that he cannot write, due to a physical or grammatical weakness, then the competent official must assist in the writing of the application, following the citizen's dictation. In this regard, it is pointed out that the administrative authorities are obliged to receive and record all applications and to grant the relevant proof of receipt, even if the necessary supporting documents are missing.They must also accept citizens' applications sent by fax and respond to requests for information submitted by e-mail. Citizens, along with the possibility provided to them to switch to the K.E.P. or to the administrative authorities and to request the issuance of copies of certificates or certificates, they also have the right to submit a telephone request, through the OTE. Thus, by calling the four-digit number 1502, they request the issuance and sending, by registered letter, of certain certificates or attestations, to the address they declare, paying 4.20 euros (telephone and postal fee). If they do not request the shipment by registered letter and receive the copies of the certificates themselves, from the competent agency that issued them, then they only pay 2.20 euros, (cost of telephone application). Citizens are also given the opportunity to submit applications for the granting of State certificates through their personal computer, provided they have an internet connection, by visiting the Government website of the Public Administration, at the electronic address "http://www.ermis.gov.gr".In addition, the citizen declares with his application and the K.E.TT. which will process his request and from which he will receive the certificate. The interested citizen is informed about the receipt of the certificate by telephone communication between the KETT and the citizen. Consequently, the citizen, in order to be served, visits the K.E.TT once and not twice. It is noted that the identity details of the interested parties mentioned in the application are proven as follows: 1. in the case of Greek citizens, from the identity card or the relevant temporary certificate of the competent authority or the passport or the driver's license or the individual health booklet of all insurance institutions (Article 25 of Law 3731/2008- F.E.K.263/A 723-12-2008). 2. in the case of citizens of a Member State of the European Union, from the identity card or passport and 3. in the case of third country nationals, from the valid passport or other travel document recognized by international conventions as well as the entry visa or residence permit proving that they have entered and reside legally in the Country (Article 3, Paragraph 4 of Law 2690/1999-F.E.K. 45/A', combined with the provisions of Article 6 of Law 3386/2005-F.E.K. 212/A').It is obvious that in order to prove the identity of citizens, during their dealings with the Administration, it is mandatory to show the original of the aforementioned documents. At this point, it is recalled that, in the event that the person concerned cannot appear in person before the administrative authorities to submit an application or receive the final administrative act, the submission of citizen applications to the administration by third parties is permitted, only if they provide the legal authorization for him, which must also bear the certification of the authenticity of the signature of the authorizing person. In case of loss of a file concerning a civil case, the competent agency must take all the necessary actions for its reconstitution (article 6, par. 5 of Law 3242/2004 and TT.D.114/2005-Government Gazette 165A'). B. DEADLINES FOR PROCESSING CITIZEN CASES BY THE ADMINISTRATION.For the processing of citizens' cases, the general rule is that the administrative authorities respond to citizens' requests and process the relevant cases immediately and if this is not possible, within the deadline of fifty (50) days, at most, as long as special provisions do not provide for different deadlines. When the processing of a case requires the submission of supporting documents, certificates or data, the deadline starts from the submission or collection of all these data. It is pointed out here that public services should make every effort to serve citizens immediately, i.e., on their first visit to the service, in order to avoid the inconvenience of a second visit, if the nature of the request allows it. In addition, the following are highlighted: For cases of competence of several services, the above deadline is extended by ten (10) more days. If the application is submitted to a non-competent agency, that agency must, within three (3) days, forward it to the competent agency and notify the interested party. In this case, the deadline begins when the application was received by the competent service. If a case cannot be processed due to an objective inability, specifically justified, the competent Service must, within at least five (5) days before the expiration of the stipulated deadline, notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the delay, the employee who has taken over the case and his telephone number for the provision of any useful information.The administrative authorities must immediately grant certificates and attestations in order to avoid the re-visit of the interested parties to the service. If their immediate delivery is not possible, they are sent by post to the address stated by the interested party, within ten (10) days at the latest (article 4, par. 4 of Law 2690/1999). Every interested party has the right, following his written request, to have access to the records of the Administration and to obtain knowledge, within a period of twenty (20) days, either by on-site investigation, or by granting copies, of the administrative documents, as well as of the private documents kept in the public services and related to his case, which is pending in them or has been processed by them (Article 5 of Law 2690/1999 in conjunction with par. 2 of article 11 of Law 3230/2004-Government Gazette 44 A' /11-2-2004). Furthermore, it is recalled that non-compliance with the aforementioned deadlines leads to the right of the concerned citizen to submit an application for the payment of full compensation (Article 7 of Law 3242/2004). The applications in question are submitted, for issues within the competence of the Central Services of Ministries, to the Special Committee for Control of the Implementation of Legislation that operates in the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Electronic Government, while to the Special Committees that operate in the Decentralized Administrations of the Country, the relevant applications are submitted for the other services of the public sector, which operate in their territorial competence (e.g. NTTDD, DOU, Municipalities etc). C. AUTHENTICATION OF THE SIGNATURE.Every interested party has the right to request the certification of the authenticity of his signature, on all documents, from which the declaration of his will is derived, from all administrative authorities and K.E.TT. of the Country (Article 11, par. 1 of Law 2690/1999 in conjunction with Article 16, Par. 3 of Law 3345/2005 - Official Gazette 138 A 716-6-2005). A necessary condition is the presentation of the documents necessary according to the above that prove his identity. When the person concerned comes in person for his affairs at the public sector services or the K.E.P., presenting the police identity card or the corresponding original documents, the attestation of the originality of his signature is not required (par. 4 of article 16 of Law 3345/2005-Government Gazette 138 A 716-6-2005). In this regard, it is pointed out that from the provisions governing the responsible declaration (Article 14 of Law 1599/1986) it is not required, for its submission, to certify the authenticity of the declarant's signature, unless otherwise specified. D. VALIDATION OF COPIES OF DOCUMENTS Any interested party may request, from all administrative authorities and C.E.P.s, the validation of copies of administrative documents, from the original or from the exact copy of the administrative authority that issued it (article 11, par.2 of Law 2690/1999 in conjunction with Article 16, par.5 of Law 3345/2005 - Official Gazette 138 A 716-6-2005). It is clarified that the validation of simple copies of documents issued by a national administrative authority is not required, if these copies are accompanied by a responsible declaration, in which the interested party confirms the accuracy of the information.Also, any interested party may request, from all administrative authorities and C.E.P.s, the validation of copies of private documents or documents issued by foreign authorities, from exact copies of these, provided they have been validated, first of all, by a lawyer, as well as private documents, for which, by decision of the Minister of Administrative Reform and Electronic Government and the relevant Minister, as the case may be, there has been a more specific regulation with the issuance of the foreseen Joint Ministerial Decision (par. 5 and 7 of article 16 of Law 3345/2005 - Official Gazette 138 A 716-6-2005). It is pointed out that all administrative authorities are obliged to certify the authenticity of the signature and to certify copies of documents, in accordance with the above. Consequently, it is ILLEGAL for an administrative authority to refuse to carry out the above procedures, as well as to refer the specific administrative acts to another administrative authority. E. CITIZEN SERVICE CENTERS (CITIZEN SERVICE CENTERS) 1. Through the KEPs, citizens can process more than 1000 administrative procedures certified by ministerial decisions of bodies in the narrow and wider public sector. The citizen submits his request for the issuance of a certificate, license, etc. to the KETT of his choice, which then addresses the competent agency, which issues the certificate or license and the KETT notifies the interested party to receive the act he requested.The KEPs, depending on the personnel who serve in them, operate either between 7.30 - 15.30 from Monday to Friday or with extended hours 8.00 - 20.00 from Monday to Friday and 8.00 - 14.00 on Saturday (paragraph 3 of the YA no. prot. DIADP/F.B.1/ 14757/ 25.7.2011 (Government Gazette 1659 /B'). Soon, selected KEPs in each prefecture of the country are going to operate as "one-stop services" for the establishment of general and limited companies of all forms (para. A' of article 2 and par. 2d of article 4 of Law 3853/2010 (Government Gazette 90 /A'). 2. Service activities and Electronic processing of procedures. Based on the modern citizen-centric design of service provision, the National Public Administration Portal "ERMIS" (e-Government Portal) has been developed, for the information of citizens and businesses and the secure processing of electronic transactions from a central point. Through the "ERMIS" National Public Administration Portal, citizens can: To be informed, through the Thematic Index, in detail about the procedures handled through the KEPs, the required supporting documents and conditions for submitting the relevant application. To submit, through the "Electronic Services" option and after registration in "ERMI", an electronic application for the issuance of simple certificates which they then receive from the KEP of their choice.To search for contact details and addresses of KEPs through the "KEP Directory" option. The search can be carried out, either by geographical area, or by keywords. Also, in application of Directive 2006/123/EC which was incorporated into domestic law by Law 3844/2010 (Government Gazette 63/A73-5-2010) and concerns the facilitation of access to service provision activities and their exercise in the EU member states, applications can be submitted remotely and by electronic means (Articles 7, 8, 9 of the same law), for 200 procedures that fall within the scope of the above Directive, through the electronic Single Service Center, which operates on the website www.ermis.qov.gr (in the EUGO option). Alternatively, and for the processing of the above procedures and with a physical presence, 54 KEPs have been designated to operate as Single Service Centers (see Appendix 2). In order to carry out the procedures that fall within the scope of the above Directive by the KETTs that have been determined to also operate as Single Service Centers, their staff are trained so that a) citizens from other EU member states can also be served. and b) be able to carry out electronically the procedures that have been included in them.Also, for the completion of all procedures that fall within the scope of the Directive, specific deadlines have been set within which the administration must license the applicant. In the event that a fixed deadline for the issuance of a permit is missed, it is presumed that the administration has consented to the issuance of the said permit (activation of the provision of par. 4 a. 10 of Law 3230/2004, Official Gazette 44 A 711-02-2004). F. ENSURING TRANSPARENCY AND INFORMATION Public services facilitate citizen information, social dialogue, criticism and legitimate control, without requiring the citizen to establish a specific legal interest. More generally, the obligation of public servants to provide information to citizens derives from a set of provisions of both the Constitution and the ordinary legislator, from jurisprudence, from the obligation to serve them and from the principle of User Administration. Based on the above, in every public service, especially those attended by many traders, there must be authorized employees responsible for informing the public (refer to DISKPO/F.2/9967/15-5-2006 and DIDK/F.2/3646/6-2-2008 circulars for the operation of Citizen Reception Offices in the area of ​​public services). This does not mean that the other employees of the service do not have an obligation to provide, apart from the information on the specific matters of their competence, and basic information to the citizens about their cases that are related to the more general competences of their service.Refusal to provide this information and even writing in public service boxes the phrase "no information is given" contradicts the very nature of the public service. In the framework of the general obligation of public services to operate transparently and to inform citizens, every citizen may obtain knowledge, subject to the conditions of the law, of administrative documents as well as private documents, which are kept in public services, and are related to his case which is pending in them or has been processed by them. The civil servant does not prevent citizens' right of access to documents under the pretext of personal data protection, especially when such do not exist (Article 5 of Law 2690/1999 as applicable). In addition, the administrative authorities must facilitate the re-use of documents issued or in the possession of public sector entities, for commercial or non-commercial purposes, ensure and ensure compliance with the terms and conditions for their proper reuse by citizens and businesses (law 3448/2006 (Government Gazette 57/A') "For the re-use of public sector information and regulation of matters competence of the Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization").It is also recalled that in order to achieve timely and valid information for citizens, transparency and effective control of governmental and administrative action, with Law 3861/2010 (Government Gazette 112/AV13-7-2010) "Strengthening transparency with the mandatory posting of laws and acts of governmental, administrative and self-governing bodies on the Internet "Transparency Program" and other provisions", established the mandatory posting on the Internet of laws, regulatory acts and in general acts of governmental and administrative bodies, provided for by the provisions of par. 4 of article 2 of the said law, without prejudice to the rules for the protection of the individual from the processing of sensitive personal data and secrets. It is noted here that the posting of acts on the internet does not replace the publication in the Government Gazette or other forms of publicity provided for by the current legislation (par. 1 of article 4 of Law 3861/2010 and DISKPO/F.8/ok.16752/22-7-2010 and 20868/29-9-2010 related circulars). Also, on the Government Internet site of the Public Administration "ERMIS", at the electronic address "http://www.ermis.gov.gr", any interested party can search in an easy, simple and innovative way any information they want in the entire Public Administration and also carry out safely and quickly electronic transactions of their choice, without the obligation to be present in person at the relevant Public Service.In an effort to provide immediate, correct and valid information to citizens and businesses about the activities and initiatives that are developed in the field of Public Administration, the Newspaper "DIMOSIO grafikatika" is published electronically, which is posted every Tuesday on the online National Portal of Public Administration "ERMIS", in the form of a newsletter, under the distinctive title "JOURNALISTIC" (http:// www.ermis.qov.qr/portal/paqe/portal/ ermis/ newsletter) (related to DISKPO/ F.19/ house 16079/ 13.07.2010 circular).The topics of the Newspaper "JOURNALISM" include, among others, the announcements of the Public Services and the wider Public for recruitments and transfers, while the content of the Newspaper is enriched with current topics of general interest such as actions to upgrade the quality of the services provided by the Public Administration to citizens and businesses, the improvement of State-Citizen relations, etc. The administrative authorities must shape information and communication and in general e-government services within the framework of their competences, in such a way that they are user-friendly, ensure and strengthen equality in access to information and e-government services and take into account the special access needs of certain groups or individuals and in particular people with disabilities (law 3979/2011 "On e-Government and other provisions", article 4, par. 7). At this point, it is pointed out again that, as clearly stated in article 8 of Law 3861/2010 ("Strengthening transparency...", Official Gazette 112/A') as well as in Article 5 of Law 3979/2011 ("On electronic governance and other provisions", Official Gazette 138/A'), there is an obligation for all administrative authorities to post in a prominent place on their website the contact details of of their employees by organizational unit (phone numbers, faxes, e-mails) and to update these details immediately, in case of any changes. G. SIMPLIFICATION OF PROCEDURESIn the direction of better service to citizens, provisions are applied to simplify administrative procedures, reduce their processing time and drastically limit the administrative and financial burdens on citizens and entrepreneurs. In this context, the abolition of supporting documents and their replacement with a responsible declaration of Law 1599/1986 was established. 1. Abolition of supporting documents and their replacement with a responsible declaration of Law 1599/1986 (IEK 75A'), in application of the provisions of Article 10 of Law 3230/2004 (IEK 44A). To date, the following have been abolished and replaced with a responsible declaration of Law 1599/1986: • the certificates of non-prosecution and non-referral to trial in all administrative procedures. • the submission of a copy of the criminal record, in 150 administrative procedures under the jurisdiction of the Ministries of Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, Health and Social Solidarity, Education, Lifelong Learning and Religions, Citizen Protection, etc. • the submission of a certificate of non-prosecution and a copy of the criminal record as supporting documents in the procedures for registering a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece. 2. Ex officio search of supporting documents Furthermore, in the context of always improving the service to citizens, the measure of ex officio search of supporting documents by the administration (the services of the Ministries, the n.p.d.d., first and second level OTAs and decentralized administrations) is applied, which is provided for by Law 3242/2004 and Law 3448/2006. A distinction is made between mandatory ex officio search and ex officio search following the consent of the interested party.Initially, the ex officio search was established following the consent of the interested party (art. 5 of Law 3242/2004 -Government Gazette 102 A'), according to which the services are required to search, with the citizen's consent, 182 supporting documents.The mandatory ex officio search was established by the provision of article 16 of Law 3448/2006 (Government Gazette 57 A'). According to this provision, the administration must look for each of the 29 supporting documents that fall under the said procedure from the current regulatory framework, in order to process citizens' requests. The difference between the two types of search is that in the first case the express consent of the citizen is requested, while in the second the service informs the person concerned that it will search for all the supporting documents necessary for the processing of his case and are included in the mandatory ex officio search. The procedure is the same in both cases. The citizen submits an application to a public service for the processing of which intermediate supporting documents are required. The service then processes the request by looking for the supporting documents that fall under the specific procedures by faxing the relevant document to the service responsible for issuing them within 24 hours. The latter is obliged within 48 hours of receiving the application to send the requested supporting documents of its competence by fax to the original service, in order to proceed with the issuance of the administrative act. The list with all the supporting documents that are sought ex officio as well as any other kind of relevant information can be found on the website www.ydmed.qov.gr. in the route Administrative Reform - Public Administration - Self-employed Document Search. H. CITIZENS' ACCESS HOURS TO PUBLIC SERVICESThe basic criterion for determining the reception time of the public in public services, the OTAs, NPDD and other public bodies, was the better service and facilitation of citizens during their transactions with public services. In particular: Public access to public services, OTAs. Grade A and B and the other NTTDD for which there was no limited entry time for the public (12.00-14.30) takes place every working day from 09.00-15.00. The special arrangements for the hours of public entry to public institutions and services remain in force. Especially for the Public Financial Services (P.O.Y.) and public administrations, the end of public entry is set at 2:30 p.m., without affecting the specified start time for public entry, which is valid today. But in case there is cooperation, (e.g. obligation to deposit money after the end of the transactions), with credit institutions and this becomes difficult, then public entry is allowed until 14.00. The entrance of the public to the protocol offices and Citizen Reception Offices is allowed from 07.30-15.30. This regulation does not apply to the Offices of the Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Presidents of Boards of Directors, Governors and Deputy Governors of the N.P.D.D.. Also, the above public entry times do not apply to the Central Service of the Ministries of National Defense and Foreign Affairs, for which the days and hours of public reception specifically determined by them apply. It is recalled that they were not affected, with no. prot. DIADP/FBI/ 14757/25-7-2011 (Government Gazette 1659 B') decision of the Minister of Administrative Reform and Electronic Government, the applicable entry and service hoursof citizens in public services, OTAs, NPDD and other State bodies, which were designated by way of derogation by special provisions, or by decisions of Ministers under the authority of par. 6 of article 1 of Law 1157/1981. In this sense, entry and service hours for citizens from 09.00-15.00 were not established for all services, given that the special arrangements for public entry hours were kept in force. It is pointed out that it is not permissible for public services and bodies to change the hours of reception of citizens suddenly, reversing practices that have been followed for a long time, given that in this way an impermissibly great inconvenience is caused to the public. Before any modification of public entry hours, the public should be informed systematically and in any appropriate way. In particular, the Ministries must post on their website and in a prominent place, easily accessible to the citizens, the opening times of the public both for the same and for the agencies supervised by them, so that the citizen knows the hours he can access the public Services and agencies. I. POLICY MEASURES TO SERVE THE DISABLED a. ACCESSIBILITY OF PUBLIC SERVICES and INFRASTRUCTURE (i) Improving accessibility in the natural and built environment1. According to paragraph 6 of article 21 of the Constitution, "people with disabilities have the right to enjoy measures that ensure their autonomy, professional inclusion and participation in the social, economic and political life of the Country". Given this constitutional mandate and the general principle that the Public Administration must ensure all citizens the same opportunities to exercise their rights, the lack of accessibility to infrastructure, services and goods constitutes a violation of the fundamental rights of the disabled. 2. With the provisions of article 1 of the P.D. 13/2005 "Establishment of Accessibility Units for Persons with Disabilities in the Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization (YP.ES.D.D.A.) and in its supervised bodies." the obligation of immediate compliance of all Public Services, N.P.D.D. was established. and O.T.A. first and second grade in the direction of taking all the necessary measures to ensure accessibility and other facilities for the disabled in their places of operation. In this context, among other things, all the obliged entities must prepare on an annual basis an action plan (programming), implementation schedule, costing and financing of the accessibility projects for the disabled in the buildings under their responsibility, in accordance with the specifications provided by the current legislation (G.O.K.).3. To address the issue of limited accessibility of certain buildings that house Public Services, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 6 of article 31 of Law 3013/2002 (Government Gazette A/102/01.05.2002), it is provided that "the K.E. P. are housed in spaces that are unsuitable for people with disabilities according to the provisions of the General Building Regulation", since the K.E.P. by their very nature, they are a permanent channel of communication between citizens and the entire Public Administration, providing information and service and, therefore, must be fully accessible to people with disabilities and, in general, to all hindered people. 4. In order to improve traffic accessibility, the "Accessibility to Municipalities" Program is implemented, with which our Service intervenes at the local level, and specifically in all OTAs. a' and b' degrees, in order to implement a systematic Accessibility Program, with the aim of immediate compliance with the aforementioned OTAs. regarding the obligation they have to take all the necessary measures to create an accessible chain which will connect, with accessible sidewalks and crossings along a specific route, the accessible facilities and infrastructure of the high-traffic areas. The proposed actions must always be designed with the criterion of the possibility of having a chain of access to buildings that house activities related to the public.5. Based on the special needs of the disabled and with the aim of better informing the disabled and their relatives as well as their faster and seamless service by all Public Services, the "Guide for the Citizen with a Disability" has been published in printed and electronic form, regarding the services provided and information concerning the disabled citizens, at the European and national level, by thematic section. The "Disabled Citizen's Guide" has already been distributed and continues to be distributed to Public Services as well as to interested citizens and is also available on the website www.ydmed.gov.gr. On the same website, after all, all the circulars of our Service can be searched, as well as the relevant legislative framework, under the route External Links/Disabled. (D) Improving electronic accessibility 1. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as a funding body, in collaboration with the Information Society (KtP S.A.) as an implementing body and the National Center for Social Solidarity (E.K.K.A.) as an operating body, in the framework of the project "Access of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to Electronic Government Services", created the first specialized online portal (www.amea.qov.gr) for citizens with disabilities, their associations, social welfare agencies as well as for businesses active in the sector. Starting from the online portal, specialized support, consulting, information and communication services are provided, completely accessible to all forms of disability.2. The new website of the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Electronic Government (www.ydmed.qov.gr) has been designed with the aim of maximum accessibility for all users, regardless of the access device (desktop computer, mobile phone or tablet) or the user's capabilities (high contrast option, large font size, detailed map/sitemap, etc.) 3. In accordance with the provisions of paragraph 8 of article 4 of Law 3979/2011 (Government Gazette A/138) "On e-government and other provisions", the planning and implementation of e-government services and the configuration and supply of the corresponding information and communication systems and services must be done with a view to ensuring electronic accessibility for people with disabilities and the possibility of them using the relevant services. (iii) Priority service for the disabled in public services Persons with disabilities who come to all public services and K.E.TT. of the country must be served on a priority basis (no. prot. DIADTT/B/9281/15-5-2003 circular). For this purpose, a special sign should be posted in a visible place that will read in easy-to-read letters the phrase: "Persons with disabilities are served as a matter of priority". I. REGULATIONS, SERVICES AND CONTROL BODIES FOR THE PROTECTION OF CITIZENS' RIGHTS1. Plaintiff's appeal, remedy request and citizen's right to petition. The Administration, when it issues any individual administrative act, must inform the person concerned, with the act in question, and about the possible possibility of exercising, against it, the special administrative or adversarial appeal provided for by the provisions of article 25 of Law 2690/1999, and mention the authority responsible for examining the organ, the deadline, as well as the consequences of failing to exercise it (Article 16 of Law 2690/1999). Also, it is noted that, when the relevant provisions do not provide for the possibility of exercising a special administrative or internal appeal, the interested party is entitled, with his application, to request either from the administrative authority which issued the act, its revocation or amendment (remedial request), or, from the authority that heads the one that issued the act, its cancellation (hierarchical appeal) (Article 24 of Law 2690/1999). Finally, it should be pointed out that Article 10 of the Constitution enshrines the right of "petition", thus enabling citizens to report in writing to the authorities, who are obliged to act quickly according to the written provisions and to give a reasoned answer to the person who submitted the petition. Therefore, in the event that it is not possible to exercise the above-mentioned appeals, the interested party may, with his application, request the reparation or reversal of the damage, which may have been caused to him, by actions or omissions of the administrative authority (reference - article 27 of Law 2690/1999).2. The citizen may additionally address, in addition to the possibility of appealing to the courts, for the submission of his complaints, the carrying out of specific checks on the acts or omissions of the administration, to the following bodies, as follows: (i) the Independent Citizen's Advocate Authority which was established by law 2477/97 and began its operation on October 1, 1998. The legislative framework of the operation is regulated by the provisions of Law 3094/03.The Ombudsman investigates individual administrative acts or omissions or material actions of public service bodies that violate the rights or harm the legitimate interests of natural or legal persons. It also investigates actions or omissions of the public administration and individuals that violate the rights of the child. Every citizen, before resorting to the Authority, should have contacted the public service to which his case relates. Only if this contact with the public service has not led to a solution to the problem can he file a report with the Ombudsman. For more complete information, citizens can contact the said Authority by phone (tel. 210-7289600) and/or visit its website (www.synigoros.gr). (ii) to the General Inspector of Public Administration whose mission is to ensure the orderly and efficient operation of the Public Administration, to monitor and evaluate the work of the Body of Inspectors - Auditors of Public Administration and of all the special Bodies and Services of Inspection and Control of the Public Administration, as well as to identify phenomena of corruption and maladministration. For more complete information, citizens can contact us by phone (tel. 210-6470370) and/or visit the website of the General Inspector of Public Administration (www.gedd.gr). (iii) to the Body of Public Administration Inspectors - Auditors (S.E.E.D.D.) whose mission is to ensure the orderly and efficient operation of the Public Administration, by highlighting the phenomena of mismanagement, corruption, non-transparent procedures, inefficiency, low productivityand poor quality of services provided. For more complete information, citizens can contact us by phone (tel. 213-2158801, -8802, -8804) and/or visit the website of the body in question (www.seedd.gr). IA. ADMINISTRATION'S COMPLIANCE WITH JUDICIAL ORDERS The obligation of the Administration to comply with court decisions is highlighted as it constitutes an essential element of the principle of the rule of law and is a Constitutional imperative according to the provisions of paragraph 5 of article 95 of the Constitution. The control procedure to establish the non-compliance of the Administration with a court decision begins after a relevant application of the interested party which is submitted free of charge to the registry of the court that issued the decision or to the registry of the relevant supreme court, which forwards it without delay to the competent three-member council (refer to PD. 61/2004, Gazette A' 54/19.02.2004), which is determined by case from the provisions of Article 2 of Law 3068/2002 "Compliance of the Administration with Court Decisions" (Government Gazette A' 274/14.11.2002), as amended by Article 56 of Law 3900/2010 "Rationalization of procedures and acceleration of administrative proceedings and other provisions" (Government Gazette A' 213/17.12.2010). IB. COMPLAINTS AND CITIZEN SUGGESTIONSThe citizen has the possibility to report incidents of inappropriate behavior, unjustified non-service, non-timely processing of his cases, refusal to cooperate with the KEPs of the public servants and the NPDD, any violation of the employees of the KEPs that constitutes a disciplinary offense according to the applicable regulations as well as non-observance of the provisions on simplification of the procedures and anti-bureaucracy provisions, addressing the KEP of his choice and filling in a special application-complaint form.The citizen's complaint is processed by the competent service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. (Directorate of State-Citizen Relations, Directorate of KEP Organization and Operation, Directorate of Process Simplification and Productivity). The Minister of Di.M.H.D. may bring disciplinary action, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Code. Finally, it is noted that the citizen can contact the Directorate of State-Citizen Relations of our Service, in order, in the event that he considers that the service he deals with is not operating in accordance with its mission and the general interest, to submit a request or protest, to formulate proposals for the better functioning of the public administration or to be informed about the deadlines provided for the processing of citizens' cases as well as his right to submit request for the payment of full compensation in the event of non-compliance with said deadlines. In addition, the citizen can contact the Simplification of Processes and Productivity Division of our Service in order to submit proposals regarding the simplification of processes and to make observations about the opening hours of public access to public services and accessibility issues for people with disabilities. Also, the citizen can contact the KEP Organization and Operation Department of our Service, in order, in the event that he considers that the KEP with which he is dealing is not operating in accordance with its mission and the general interest, to submit a request or protest, to formulate proposals for the better functioning of the KEPs or to be informed about issues concerning the KEPs.(The contact details for the above services are listed on the first page of this circular). The Administrative Departments of the Ministries are requested to communicate this circular to all the public sector bodies they supervise. Also, the Administration Directorates of the Decentralized Administrations are requested to communicate this circular to all the public sector bodies they supervise, including the OTAs of the first and second degree of their territorial jurisdiction. In order to achieve the purpose of this circular, it is advisable for all employees, especially those whose mission is to serve the citizens, to become aware of its content. In closing, we call on civil servants, in this difficult period that the country is going through, to make every possible effort by utilizing their knowledge and experience, in order to improve the quality of services offered by the Public Administration to citizens and businesses, contributing to social cohesion and economic development, at the same time facilitating the daily life of citizens. We inform you that this circular has been registered on the website of our Service: www.ydmed.qov.gr. The General Directorate of Administrative Organization and Procedures of the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Electronic Government remains at your disposal for any further clarification and cooperation. THE MINISTER
DIMITRIS REPPAS
APPENDIX 1
STATUS OF SPECIAL LAW IMPLEMENTATION CONTROL COMMITTEES (article two of Law 2690/1999) STATUS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES FOR CONTROL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGISLATION (article two of L.2690/1999) A / A MINISTRY OF ADMIN
REFORM AND
ELECTR. GOVERNANCE /
DECENTRALIZED
ADMINISTRATIONS ORG. UNIT/
TAX. D/NSI SECRETARY
COMMISSION TELEPHONE FAX EMAIL
(if available
available) 1 Ministry of Administration
Reform and
Electronics
Governance Relationship Management
State-Citizen
Vas. Sofias 15
Tk. 106 74,
ATHENS. Attaloglou A. 2132018030 2132018011 aattaloelou@mou. er 2 Decentralized Administration
Attica Administration Department
Katehaki 56
PO Box 115 25 ATHENS Lappas P. 2132035695 2106709731 3 Decentralized Administration
Macedonia-Thrace Administration Department
T. Economidis &
Prof. Rossidou 11
Tk. 540 08,
THESSALONIKI Kouraki Chr. 2313309182 2313309412 xkouraki@damt. sov. er 4 Decentralized Administration Epirus-West Macedonia Finance Department
20 of North Epirus
Postal Code 454 45,
IOANNINA Dose Increase 2651360341 2651360341 dosis@er>irus. sov. er 5 Decentralized Administration
Thessaly - Central Greece Administration Department
Socrates 111
Tk. 413 36, LARISA Gouvani P. 2413503578 2413503557 dderam@apdthest. sov. er 6 Decentralized Administration
Peloponnese- West
Greece-Ionian Administration Department
New National Road
Patro'3n-Athino'3n 28
PO Box 264 41, PATRA Stathis Chr. 2613600115 2610433794 cstathi@apd-depin. eov. er 7 Decentralized Administration
Aegean Independent Department
of Internal Control
Akti Miaouli &
Botsari] 2-8, TK.
185 38, Piraeus Seklou A. 2104290933 2104291553 8 Decentralized Administration
Crete Administration Department
Almyrou 14
Tk. 712 02,
HERACLEION Kokkali K. 2810278440 2810342187 pkokkall@crete-reeion.er CODE KALLIKRATIC MUNICIPALITY EMAIL KEP 312 Municipality of Drama n.dramas@kep.gov.gr KEP 394 Municipality of Alexandroupolis d.alexandroupolis@kep.gov.gr KEP 143 Municipality of Kavala d.kavalas@kep.gov.gr KEP 314 Municipality of Xanthi n.xanthis@kep.gov.gr KEP 593 Municipality of Komotini d .komotini s@kep. gov. Gr KEP 1 Municipality of Athens p.attikis@kep.gov.gr KEP 870 Municipality of Kropias d ,kropias@kep. gov. Gr KEP 310 Municipality of Elefsina n.dytikisattikis@kep.gov.gr KEP 311P Municipality of Piraeus n.peireos-b@kep.gov.gr KEP 104 Municipality of Lesvos d .mytilini s@kep. gov. Gr KEP 316 Municipality of Samos n.samou@kep.gov.gr KEP 88 Municipality of Chios d.omiroupolis@kep.gov.gr KEP 132P Municipality of Agrinio n.aitoloakarnania-agrinio@kep.gov.gr KEP 384 Municipality of Pachrea d.patreon@kep.gov.gr KEP 404 Municipality of Pyrgos d.pyrgou@kep.gov.gr KEP 124 Municipality of Grevena n.grevenon@kep.gov.gr KEP 319 Municipality of Kastoria n.kastorias@kep.gov.gr KEP 123 Municipality of Kozani n.kozanis-kozani@kep.gov.gr KEP 477 Municipality of Florina d.florinas@kep.gov.gr KEP 492 Ancient Municipality d.artaion@kep.gov.gr KEP 211 Municipality of Igoumenihsis n.thesprotias@kep.gov.gr KEP 322 Municipality of Ioannicho n.ioanninon@kep.gov.gr KEP 467 Municipality of Preveza d.prevezis@kep.gov.gr KEP 548 Municipality of Kardichsa d ,karditsas@kep. gov. Gr KEP 325 Municipality of Larissa n.larisis@kep.gov.gr KEP 452 Municipality of Volos d.volou@kep.gov.gr KEP 327 Municipality of Trikkaia n.trikalon@kep.gov.gr KEP 121 Municipality of Zakynthosd.zakinthion@kep.gov.gr KEP 329 Municipality of Corfu n.kerkiras@kep.gov.gr KEP 428 Municipality of Kefallinia d.argostoliou@kep.gov.gr KEP 331 Municipality of Lefkada n.lefkados@kep.gov.gr KEP 273 Municipality of Veria d. veroias@kep. gov. Gr KEP 2 Municipality of Thessaloniki n.thessalonikis-parartima@kep.gov.gr KEP 407 Municipality of Kalamaria d ,kalamarias@kep. gov. Gr KEP 336 Municipality of Kilkis n.kilkis@kep.gov.gr KEP 339 Municipality of Edessa n.pellis@kep.gov.gr KEP 340 Municipality of Kacherini n.pierias@kep.gov.gr KEP 341 Municipality of Serres n. serron@kep. gov. Gr KEP 982 Municipality of Nea Proponchida d.moudanion@kep.gov.gr KEP 332 Municipality of Heraklion Krichi n.irakleiou@kep.gov.gr KEP 10 Municipality of Agios Nikolaos d.agnikolaou@kep.gov.gr KEP 8 Municipality of Rethymno d.rethimnis@kep.gov.gr KEP 9 Municipality of Chania d.hanion@kep.gov.gr KEP 343 Municipality of Rhodes n.dodekanisou@kep.gov.gr KEP 53 Municipality of Syros d.ermoupoleos@kep.gov.gr KEP 487 Municipality of Argos-Mycenae d.argous@kep.gov.gr KEP 346 Municipality of Corinthia n ,korinthias@kep. gov. Gr KEP 440 Municipality of Sparchi d.spartis@kep.gov.gr KEP 260 Municipality of Kalamacha n.messinias@kep.gov.gr KEP 387 Municipality of Levadea d.levadeon@kep.gov.gr KEP 348 Municipality of Chalkidea n.evoias@kep.gov.gr KEP 481 Municipality of Karpenisi d.karpenisiou@kep.gov.gr KEP 133 Municipality of Lamia n.fthiotidos@kep.gov.gr KEP 350 Municipality of Delphi n.fokidas@kep.gov.grIn the hope that this circular will be useful, because it contains positive, albeit self-explanatory, instructions and regulations, we recommend its reading by anyone interested who is forced to come into contact with the incoherent public administration and its lazy representatives.