In the case of Tsatani v. Greece the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to a fair trial.

The case concerned disciplinary proceedings brought against the applicant, a prosecutor at the Athens Court of Appeal, by the President of the Court of Cassation after the latter conducted a preliminary disciplinary investigation against the applicant for closing investigations into a criminal fraud case.

The recusal requested by the applicant, alleging that the President of the Court of Cassation was not impartial, was dismissed, and the Court of Cassation disciplinary councils found the applicant guilty of serious negligence and docked two months from her salary.

The Court found that the applicant’s concerns as to the impartiality of the proceedings before the courts that had heard her case had not been unreasonable, subjective or unjustified. In particular, the disciplinary council had failed to address the impact of an official press release issued by the President of the Court of Cassation referring to the preliminary investigation when it was still pending. The Court found that the press release of itself had been incompatible with the notion of an “independent and impartial tribunal” in view of its content and the context in which it was issued.

• Press release
• Press release (in Greek)