Complaint reports for violations of health and safety legislation in the area of Thessaloniki (Greece)

Prosecution is one of the frequently employed instruments for the enforcement of health and safety legislation. In Greece, the penal procedure for such issues usually starts on initiative of a labour inspector who sends a complaint report to the public prosecutor. Should the complaint report be the result of a serious accident, there is an increased probability for the judgement of the court to remain unknown to the labour inspector, as well as the predicted penalty in the first instance court to be reduced. However, the appointment of a counsel by the victim of the accident could reverse such an effect, thus reducing the probability of the court’s judgement remaining unknown and raising the predicted penalty.