Greece
1. Constitutional structure and position of IHL in domestic law
Greece is a constitutional parliamentary republic. The president is head of State.
According to Article 28 paragraph 1 of the Constitution of 7 June 1975 (amended in March 1986), "the generally acknowledged rules of international law, as well as international conventions as of the time they are sanctioned by law and become operative according to the specific conditions therein shall become an integral part of the domestic Greek law and shall prevail over any contrary provision of the law". Thus, international law occupies a position in Greece's legal hierarchy above that of the laws adopted by parliament and is subordinate only to the Constitution.
In order to incorporate an international treaty into the Greek legal order, formal ratification is needed by a law adopted by parliament. Article 36 of the Constitution sets out the procedure for the formal ratification of treaties.
Greece ratified the 1949 Geneva Conventions on 5 June 1956. Additional Protocol I was ratified on 31 March 1989 and Additional Protocol II on 15 February 1993. Greece also accepted the competence of the International Fact-Finding Commission under Article 90 of Protocol I on 2 February 1998.
2. Implementing institution
This ministerial decision 
established Greece's Commission for the Implementation and Dissemination of International Humanitarian Law. The Commission has a consultative role regarding implementation, by the government and the parliament, of international humanitarian law treaties. Through its initiatives and recommendations, it also plays a promotional role by working with the mass media, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and schools to spread knowledge of humanitarian law.
The Commission's members include representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Public Order, Education and Creed, Justice, Health and Welfare, Interior, Culture, representatives of the General Secretariat of Youth and of Emergency Civil Defence Planning, professors specialized in humanitarian law, and a representative of the Hellenic Red Cross. Two experts in humanitarian law assist the Commission. Its secretariat is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. Legal advisers to the armed forces
Legal advisers appointed under the Code of the Judicature of the Armed Forces are authorized to advise on matters of domestic and international law, including humanitarian law.
4. Bibliography
- M. D. MAROUDA, National implementation measures of international humanitarian law in Greece, Official translation of the Greek original version by K. Makropoulos, Hellenic Republic, MFA, Athens, December 2000.
