The Council of State (CoS) has issued clarifications regarding the processing of two presidential decrees handled by the Fifth Section last year (August 2024) and this year, concerning construction terms in settlements and the blockage of their expansion.

The crucial aspect of the CoS’s announcement is the provisions from the Ministry of Energy for Zone III, which were found to be illegal because they would have included areas that did not meet the criteria to be incorporated within the boundaries of a settlement.

It should be clarified that Zone III of the decree encompassed areas of the settlement beyond Zone Β1 up to the designated limit of the settlement as determined by the governor’s decision.

Specifically, last year, a draft Presidential Decree was submitted to the CoS, which in August 2024 (opinion 74/2024) was deemed legal by the CoS.

In detail, the Fifth Section of the CoS (74/2024) chaired by Vice President Margarita Gortzolidou and with rapporteur Assessor Zoe Theodorikakou, ruled the draft Presidential Decree, which merged two residential decrees—those defining the criteria for demarcation and construction terms for settlements existing outside urban plans prior to 1923 and the one concerning the terms and restrictions for the construction of settlements in the country with up to 2,000 residents—as lawful.

It is important to note that there were two existing Presidential Decrees. One is dated 13/03/1981, which pertains to settlements prior to 1923 in areas outside urban planning, establishing the boundaries of settlements existing before August 16, 1923, that lack an approved land use plan, while simultaneously defining the terms and restrictions for construction in these plots.

The second Presidential Decree, dated 24-04-1985, establishes the boundaries of settlements in the country with up to 2,000 residents while also determining their construction terms and restrictions.

After the opinion from the CoS was forwarded to the ΥΠΕΝ, last March, the ministry resubmitted the same draft decree to the court with some changes, leading to the issuance of opinion number 17/2025 from the same Section, with the same composition (subsequently published in the Government Gazette and became Presidential Decree 194/2025).

Ultimately, this merger was deemed legal by the CoS, as long as the decree contains specific provisions for both pre-1923 settlements, which are under special protection status, as well as for traditional settlements, which also have more specific regulations.

On the contrary, the provisions proposed by ΥΠΕΝ for Zone III were ruled illegal. According to the draft, Zone III would include “areas that not only had been included within delineations done improperly in the past (mainly through regional decisions and not through presidential decrees), but also did not meet the criteria to be incorporated within the boundaries of a settlement, according to the criteria included in the decree itself.”

In other words, “in reality, these were areas that, based on their characteristics, should be outside the boundaries of a settlement and would only be buildable according to provisions for construction outside urban plans,” emphasizes the CoS in its announcement.

According to the CoS, “the recognition of Zone III would essentially represent an expansion of the settlement, which is expressly prohibited both by the authorizing law and by the provisions of the decree itself.”

As the Council of State advisors clarify, “this expansion, of course, is not excluded, but it is only possible after the prior urban planning of the areas involved in the expansion,” however, “a necessary prerequisite for this urban planning is the prior establishment of an approved Local Urban Plan (ΤΠΣ) or Specific Urban Plan, and until the approval of these plans, the existence of an approved General Urban Plan or Spatial Planning Framework.”

And the CoS concludes, “if the administration deems it necessary and advisable to expand the boundaries of the settlements in the country for residential or other kinds of development, it must prioritize urban planning for the necessary areas to meet this purpose.”