Ex-speaker heralds justice watchdog

Former Parliament speaker and leader of the Sailing for Freedom party, Zoe Constantopoulou, announced the creation on Tuesday of a special body to "monitor and facilitate" high-profile court cases involving the state and intervene with the submission of relevant evidence to ensure that the tenets of the Greek Constitution are upheld.

Constantopoulou, a lawyer, said she will present the new body and its composition on September 15 to coincide with International Day of Democracy.

The former SYRIZA MP said the body's creation was deemed necessary because, she claimed, the authority of the executive, judiciary and legislative branches is not being exercised in accordance with the Constitution.

Among others, she singled out the trials linked to the Siemens cash-for-contracts scandal, the prosecution of the former chief of Greece's statistics agency (ELSTAT) and Greek...