The Kingdom of Greece.
Because of its matchless philosophy, literature and art, ancient Greece is still the marvel of the modern world, but little credit is given to old Hellas as one of the principal sources of the jurisprudence of to-day. For political reasons the Roman law was the overshadowing and dominating system of ancient law, but the fountain head of the laws of Rome, even of the Laws of the Twelve Tables, was the land of Demosthenes, Pericles, Solon and Lycurgus.
The great jurisconsults of the Roman Empire were not Roman but Greek lawyers, not the least of whom was Gaius, the legal commentator who was the Blackstone of his period.
The Roman Empire was the physical expression of Grecian intellect. Not only the first lawyers but the first popes of Rome were Greeks.
The modern Kingdom of Greece has an excellent system of jurisprudence based on the old Roman law, with modifications drawn from the Bavarian and French. The commercial law has been adapted from the Code Napoleon, the penal laws are of Bavarian origin, and the laws of marriage and divorce are derived from the Roman law necessarily modified to harmonize with the dogmas of the Orthodox Greek Church, which is the national church of the kingdom.
The Areopagus existed in Greece as a court of justice before the first Messenian war, 740 B. C. This court was situated on the Hill of Ares outside the city of Athens, the very “Hill of Mars” on which St. Paul preached in the year A. D. 52. We find historical mention of the Court of Areopagus as late as the year 880 of the Christian Era. It is unlikely that the Areopagus of to-day, which is the supreme court of appeal in modern Greece, has any other relationship than the same venerable name with the court of ancient times.
Besides the Court of the Areopagus, there are four other inferior courts of appeal, one for each of the judicial districts of Greece. There are also four commercial tribunals, seventeen courts of first instance, and over two hundred justices of the peace. The standard of the Grecian judiciary is very high, for only men of unblemished reputation who have received the degree of doctor of law from a reputable European university are eligible to the bench.
There is no habeas corpus act in Greece, but no one can be arrested, no house can be entered, and no letter opened without a judicial warrant.
The supreme power of the Church of Greece is vested in the Holy Hellenic Synod which consists of five members, who are appointed annually by the King, and the majority of whom must be prelates. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Athens is ex-officio president; two royal commissioners attend without voting and the Synod’s resolutions require to be confirmed by them in the King’s name. In all purely spiritual matters the Synod has entire independence; but on questions having a civil side, such as marriage and divorce, it can only act in concert with the civil authorities.
The Orthodox Greek Church as a matter of dogma treats marriage as a sacrament or divine ordinance, but unlike the Latin Church, it holds that for sufficient cause marriage may be legally dissolved, but not till a probationary period has elapsed during which a bishop or priest mediates with the purpose of reconciling the parties.