Article 41
On Mount Athos, the court system is structured as follows: The Court of First Instance is the abbot with the Gerontia, in coenobitic monasteries, and the Synaxis of the Superiors in the idiorrhythmic monasteries. The Court of Second Instance (appellate court) is the Hiera Koinotis.
Article 42
In coenobitic monasteries, the Court of First Instance is presided over by the abbot, or, in his absence, by his deputy; in the idiorrhythmic monasteries, the highest-ranking superior or, in his absence, the person ranked immediately below him, presides over the court. The representative of the Hiera Koinotis who is first in order of precedence presides over the Court of Second Instance.
Article 43
The supreme legislative and judicial body on Mount Athos is the Extraordinary Twenty-member Synaxis, which consists of the abbots and superiors of the twenty Athonite monasteries. It convenes ipso jure and is formally summoned by the Hiera Koinotis twice per year, on the fifteenth day after Easter and on August 20 of each year. The ordinary representatives are excluded from this legislative body.
The Supreme Court for matters of a spiritual nature is the Ecumenical Patriarch in conjunction with the Holy Synod.
Article 44
The purpose of the courts on Mount Athos is to settle land boundary disputes, to supervise monastic discipline, and to punish monks of the Holy Mountain for misconduct.
Article 45
In addition to deciding on legislative matters, the supreme legislative and judicial body on Mount Athos adjudicates on appeals relating to boundary disputes. Its decisions are final and irrevocable, and obligatory also for those who dissented.
Article 46
Civil cases relating to border disputes between a monastery and its dependency or between two of its own dependencies are adjudicated by the Court of First Instance, in the monastery, or, on appeal, by the Hiera Koinotis. Such disputes as arise between two monasteries or the depend encies of two different monasteries are adjudicated at first instance by the Hiera Koinotis. The monasteries’ decisions may be appealed to the Hiera Koinotis within a period of fifteen (15) days after the litigant in question has been notified of the decision by the Hiera Epistasia. Decisions of the Hiera Koinotis may be appealed to the Supreme extraordinary tribunal during its first meeting after the verdict of the Hiera Koinotis has been delivered and published.
Article 47
For minor infractions on account of which it is not deemed necessary for the offending monk to be tried by a court, the abbot and the Epitro poi in coenobitic monasteries, or the Epitropoi in idiorrhythmic ones, may impose the following irrevocable punishments: a) an admonition, b) a reprimand, or c) food deprivation, except bread, for a period of up to seven days.
Article 48
A member of a court (i.e. judge) may not take part in a session or even attend one: a) if he is the victim (plaintiff) of the crime being examined or b) if he is a member of the Court of Second Instance and the case concerns a monk of his own monastery (excluding monks of monastery’s dependencies).
Article 49
The principles listed in Article 48 for excluding judges also apply by extension to the person of the investigator because he must state his opinion in writing and this opinion must be taken into account when the court votes on the case (q.v. Article 50, immediately below).
Article 50
It is not required to replace a judge who has been excluded from the court if the number of the remaining members exceeds two thirds of the overall number. It is not possible to conduct a legal trial when less than two thirds of the total number of members are in attendance.
Article 51
If any monk or clergyman, who is not himself an Athonite father, commits an offence on Mount Athos, an investigation is ordered by the Court of Second Instance. The case file is forwarded to the competent church authority, under which jurisdiction the offender is subjected, since Athonite courts are not authorized to conduct such a trial.
Article 52
The Ecumenical Patriarchate is the only court authorized to examine of fences that may be punished by defrocking. The Court of Second Instance forwards to the Ecumenical Patriarch the case file which has been compiled on the basis of the general procedural provisions of the present Charter.
Article 53
An accusation against a monk is made after a written complaint from the aggrieved party or any other person or after an independent statement from the monastic authorities, presented orally.
Article 54
Claims against monks made by non-Christians, heretics, or schismat ics, or condemned offenders, are not accepted save for in cases where the plaintiff is the victim. Claims submitted anonymously or pseudonymously are also not accepted. The claimant is obliged to set out in detail the alleged illegal actions of the accused, and present at least two wit nesses to corroborate his claims.
Article 55
If the claim is accepted, it is sent to be processed by one of the superiors of the Court of First Instance or a representative of the Court of Second Instance, after an order has been given for the beginning of the judicial procedure by conducting strict and detailed investigations, in any case in written form, and in the presence of two monks as witnesses. This does not apply to minor offences, which are covered by Article 47.
Article 56
The claimant is first summoned for examination, in order to restate his claim and state that he is aware of the consequences of making a base less one. After him, the witnesses he has proposed are interrogated. This is followed by the defence of the accused, and, finally, the interrogation of the defence witnesses.
Article 57
After the investigation has been concluded, in accordance with the preceding article, the investigator presents a dossier to the court which has ordered the investigation. The dossier contains case materials and a report of the investigator’s own opinion about the affair.
Article 58
The court, after receiving the completed case file, sets about researching it and in case the court should find it necessary to request supplemen tary material, it issues an order to this effect, stating which materials are insufficient, or else setting the date of a trial session to which the accused shall be summoned to defend himself. The court summons, documented by a proof of notification, proclaims that the indictment has been issued, and that the accused is called upon to defend himself, indicating also the precise time of his court appearance.
Article 59
A defendant may not appear in court or before an investigator through a representative or proxy.
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Article 60
Concerning defendants from outside of Mount Athos the competent ec clesiastical authority is in charge of summoning them. In the event that a defendant’s place of residence is unknown, the court summons shall be notified to the monastery to which he belongs. When two months after this notice have elapsed, and the summons is considered to have been delivered legally and on time, the court may begin examining the case and then announce its decision.
Article 61
When the defendant appears in court on the day appointed for the court session, after the confirmation of his identity, the indictment, witness statements, and other relevant documents are read out. Then the accused is called to defend himself and he has the right, in addition to his oral defence, to submit a written statement.
Article 62
Since the accused is unable to attend the witness interrogation, he has the right, before his defence in front of the investigator or the court, to ask for these documents, and be aware of the case material in order to be able to rebut the accusation.
Article 63
Certain classes of people may not serve as witnesses at an Athonite court, namely: a) non-Christians, non-Orthodox, or heretics; b) those who already have a conviction for bearing false witness; c) father-con fessors, if their evidences derived through their duty as confessors; d) young men under the age of fourteen; and e) people who have previously been condemned for serious offences.
Article 64
Witnesses are under strict obligation to appear before investigators, being summoned through their ruling monastery. The witness receives a written summons from the investigator stating the place, date, and time of the meeting, as well as the reason for having him appear. The summons must be signed for. Should a witness twice refuse to appear, the civil authorities may use force to make him do so. The provisions of the current article relating to witnesses are extended to apply to the plaintiff and the defendant.
Article 65
Before being interrogated, the witnesses make a solemn vow “to say the truth without fear or distortion”. Monks do so “by virtue of their mo nastic profession”, whereas laypeople do so by laying their right hand on the Gospel book.
Article 66
Each witness is questioned separately by the investigator. In order to ensure that they are no ambiguities in the witness statement, he may, at the request of the accused or on his own initiative, elect to question supple mentary the witnesses in person, together with the accused or with another witness. The investigator conducts this interrogation; in the beginning, he asks them for their name, surname, age, place of birth and of residence, work, religion, and relationship to the accused. Then he reads out the accusation and asks the witness to present whatever he knows about it. If necessary, he may ask the witness questions in order to clarify and complete his statements. After the witness has set out his views about the object of the accusation, the investigator invites him to make any additions he may have. After this, the statement is read out and the acts are signed by the investigator, the person who has been questioned, and the two witnesses.
Article 67
After the case-file is completed, the court examines the witness state ments and all evidence that has been presented, as well as an eventually confession of the accused. It then pronounces a sentence, whether a con demnation or an acquittal, by majority vote. The sentence is recorded in a special book. It should contain a description of the events in question, a supporting argument laying out the facts upon which the judges have based their conviction, and the verdict delivered by the court (mentioning the article of the present Constitutional Charter that provides for the penalty imposed by the court).
Article 68
The members of the court cast their votes in reverse hierarchical order.
Article 69
The sentence is read out to the defendant and notified to him in a certified copy against receipt. He is then called upon to submit to the deci sion that has been taken.
Article 70
In the event that the accused did not appear to defend himself on the appointed day despite the fact that he was summoned in accordance with the legal provisions laid out above, the court looks into the sub stance and essence of the complaint and judges the accused in absentia. A verdict at which the court arrives in this way is considered to be legal, and no different from a decision taken in the presence of the accused. However, if he was detained by an event of force majeure, the court takes these circumstances into account and postpones the court session, though not for longer than it takes for the force majeure event to subside.
Article 71
Punishments that may be imposed by a decision of a Court of First In stance include:
a) a rule on prayer rope; b) fasting for up to forty days; c) seclusion in the grounds of the monastery; d) seclusion in another monastery, or in a dependency for a period no longer than a year; e) removal from the diakonima; f) exclusion from the meetings of the monastery’s Synaxis for up to a year; g) being deprived of the right to celebrate services for up to three months.
These penalties are final and irrevocable.
Article 72
Any decision of a Court of First Instance imposing major penalties than those set out in Article 71 may be appealed to the Court of Second Instance within fifteen days after the accused has been notified of the pun ishment. Appeals made after this deadline cannot be accepted.
Article 73
Appeals may be made only by the defendant himself. To justify the ap peal, he should describe the formal and substantial reasons why it is being made. It is submitted through the Court of First Instance, which is obliged to forward it within five days, to the Court of Second Instance together with a document affirming that the accused was informed of the court’s decision and with all the case materials. Under no circumstances may the court refuse to accept an appeal made in accordance with the law.
Article 74
After the appeal has been made, the Court of Second Instance sets about examining it no later than fifteen days after it receives it. Once the court has confirmed the formal admissibility of the appeal, it begins to look into the essence of the case and then issues a verdict that cannot be overturned.
Article 75
The submission of an appeal by no means puts off execution of the deci sion of the Court of First Instance.
Article 76
If a person is convicted but fails to comply with the decision of the court, the verdict is sent to the local state authorities, which notify to the con demned person and carry out the court’s decision.
Article 77
No monastery may refuse the completion in it of a penalty, imposed by a court to a monk.
Article 78
Court decisions are deemed enforceable when, from the perspective of both their content and legal formalities, they are canonical and in agree ment with the present Constitutional Charter.
Article 79
When a monk has carried out half of the penalty imposed on him and shows signs of sincere repentance, the Court of Second Instance may, at the behest of the condemned monk and after consulting with his monastery, review the trial and resolve to commute the sentence referring to the punishment.
Article 80
If any accusation is found to be utterly baseless and unsubstantiated, the accuser is subjected to the same punishment as would have been imposed upon the defendant, had he been found guilty.
Article 81
If the accused is convicted of the offence, he bears the court costs; if not, in the case that the accusation has been proved unfounded or unsub stantiated, they are borne by the plaintiff.
Article 82
Punishments imposed for a determined period of time cease to be valid after they have been carried out, at which point the person who has been punished recovers the status he was in before being penalized.
Article 83
With regard to cases that come under the jurisdiction of both Athonite and civilian courts, each court is at liberty to make a judgment in ac cordance with its own areas of responsibility, independently and with out any reservations on the part of the other court. The decision of one court need not necessarily agree with that of the other. It is possible for one court to acquit the person, while the other finds him guilty.
