



The Council of State, in a ruling issued on Monday, found that a ministerial decision allowing shops to open on Sunday in three specific regions in Greece was unconstitutional. The measure had been introduced as a pilot scheme on July 7, 2014 by the then development minister; it was then suspended pending the court’s final ruling, after it was challenged as unconstitutional by trade associations and unions.

In its ruling on Monday, the Council of State plenum granted the associations’ request that the ministerial order be revoked as unconstitutional. The court found that the laws, issued in 2013 and 2014, were contrary to the 1909 law establishing Sunday as a day of rest for all shops and businesses, with the exception of specific categories such as recreational establishments, restaurants, tavernas, cake shops, coffee shops and shops selling goods for tourists.

The new laws allowed the development minister to ordain three areas to be treated as tourist areas, where the optional Sunday opening of retail outlets would be allowed on a pilot basis for one year, without the need for any decision by regional authorities.

(source: ana-mpa)



