Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou

Supreme Court president Vassiliki Thanou on Monday hit back at criticism leveled at her by the union of Greek judges and prosecutors over her latest initiative to extend the age limit for judges beyond the current maximum of 67 years.

In a statement last week, the union referred to "unconstitutional initiatives that harm the integrity of the judiciary and its functionaries."

A fresh initiative by Supreme Court president Vassiliki Thanou to extend the age limit for Greek judges beyond the current maximum of 67 years has prompted a fresh rift within the Greek judiciary.

Greece's Union of Judges and Prosecutors (EDE) on Tuesday attacked an initiative by top judicial officials to set up a new union as an opportunistic move that risked causing a rift in their community.

The Union of Judges and Prosecutors has criticized a proposal by Supreme Court President Vassiliki Thanou that the age limit for Greek judges be extended beyond the current maximum of 67 years.

New Democracy, Greece's conservative opposition, said Wednesday that a decision to extend the age limit of active judges would be "unthinkable."

"The retirement age of judges is set by the constitution. Any decision to change the [age] limit would be unthinkable," New Democracy said in a statement while accusing the SYRIZA-led government of tampering with the country's institutions.

Another meeting Tuesday between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and top judges fuelled further controversy after an extension to the age limit of active judges emerged as the key topic discussed. Meanwhile, the Council of State was to convene again Wednesday to discuss appeals by television channels against the government's recent auction of TV licenses.

Council of State president Nikos Sakellariou on Thursday slammed two of the court's vice presidents for resigning from the Union of Judges and Prosecutors following his recent controversial decision to suspend a plenary session that was considering appeals by TV channels against the constitutionality of a recent government auction for broadcasting permits.

Just 20 days after being elected head of the Athens Appeals Court Prosecutor's Office, Isidoros Dogiakos, was removed from the post Tuesday in a delayed response to a verdict reached prior to his election by the Supreme Court's disciplinary panel deeming that he insulted the top court's president, Vassiliki Thanou.

Isidoros Dogiakos was re-elected as the head of the Athens Appeals Court prosecutor's office on Saturday in the wake of accusations that the government attempted to exclude him from the contest.

Appeals court prosecutor Georgia Tsatani, under scrutiny for her handling of a probe into businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos and his role in the collapse of Laiki Bank in Cyprus, is at odds again with Supreme Court president Vassiliki Thanou.