Council of State vice presidents resign from union

Two vice presidents of the Council of State have resigned from the Union of Judges and Prosecutors in the wake of a controversial decision by president of the court, Nikos Sakellariou, to suspend a plenary session last week to consider appeals by television channels against the constitutionality of a recent government auction of TV licenses.

In a statement Wednesday, vice presidents of Greece's highest administrative court, Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou and Christos Rammos, said that the president's decision to suspend the meeting was "a grave mistake."

Friday's session was suspended within just an hour following a disagreement between judges about how to proceed amid concerns about attempts to influence the judgment of the court.

Sakellariou ended the session "because of efforts to create a certain climate in recent days, through public statements and declarations,...