Lawyers love Parliament and parliamentary seats. At least this is derived over time from the professional orientation of those who finally manage to secure a parliamentary seat.
This element is not absent from this year's parliamentary elections either, even recording an increase compared to the 2021 parliamentary elections. The new composition of the Parliament shows that law remains one of the professional areas with a strong presence on the parliamentary benches, something that is repeated in almost every election.
More specifically, 17 of the 56 MPs, i.e. 30.36%, have something to do with the law. In simpler terms, almost one in three MPs is related to the legal profession, while in 2021 the ratio was about one in five.
For some, knowledge of law is a serious advantage over other professional fields, as the submission of legislative proposals and discussions on bills require some experience and understanding of how legislation and the Constitution work. It is no coincidence that many of those involved in law can more easily follow the parliamentary committees, the amendments, but also the legal parameters that arise during the discussion of bills, both during the daily sessions and during their voting in the Plenary.
However, it should be noted that the Plenary Session of the Parliament, regardless of the experience of so many MPs, has often made mistakes concerning either procedures or the unconstitutionality of legislation. Therefore, the presence of many lawyers on the benches does not necessarily mean that failures are always avoided or that the legislation that is passed is shielded in advance against constitutional issues. In fact, there were several times that we witnessed failures, even in procedural matters within the Plenary.
Who has a background in law
Based on their CVs, 17 of the 56 MPs have something to do with the legal profession.
In particular, from DISY, Giorgos Pamporidis, Fotini Tsiridou, Michalis Fellas, Nikos Georgiou, Nicoletta Konstantinou and Dimos Georgiadis.
From AKEL, Aristos Damianou, Argentoula Ioannou, Giorgos Koukoumas and Andreas Pasiourtidis.
From DIKO, Nikolas Papadopoulos, Christiana Erotokritou, Panikos Leonidou and Zacharias Koulias.
From Direct Democracy Diana Lucia Konstantinidi and from Alma Michalis Paraskevas.
From ELAM, Linos Ioannis Hatzigeorgiou also holds a degree from the Law School.
