THE GREEK LEGAL SYSTEM
IN THE MAKING
THE GREEK LEGAL SYSTEM
IN THE MAKING
1863
THE FIRST LAW DEGREE
IN THE LAMBADARIOS FAMILY
Emmanouil Lampadarios did get “involved with law” by working at the Magistrates’ Court and then as a notary, but he never had the chance to follow any formal studies. The year his son was born in 1839, King Otto laid the foundation stone for the first university building. Thus, Constantine Lampadarios was the first attorney of the family to attend university. He graduated as a doctor of law on 15 June 1863 and started practicing law in Athens. That year marks a major milestone in the firm’s 160-year history. It is how the story begins.
According to Constantine’s hand-written notes:
“I studied law and my brother, Nikolaos, studied medicine. After completing my studies, I was appointed attorney in Athens and a short while later, associate judge with the Court of First Instance, a position I held for about three years.”
And he continues:
“I was nominated by the Bar Association for three consecutive terms as a member of the disciplinary committee of the Supreme Court of Greece (Areios Pagos) and served on it for three terms.”
Holder of the first law degree in the Lambadarios family:
the doctoral title of Constantine Lambadarios, 1863
MANY COURTS,
FEW LAWYERS
While Constantine Lampadarios was a student at university, he lived through the so-called “period of anarchy” that eventually led to King Otto’s disposal.
As the two opposing parties which had formed a type of national emergency government, were unable to agree on an aide for the new king, half of the ministers ended up resigning, leading the country to further political instability. In the modern Greek world that was struggling to take shape, the university and the study of law were highly esteemed.
Traditional forms of dispensing justice, with the advisory role of the town elders, fell into disuse thanks to the civil courts. The transition from an agrarian community to the urban setting brought with it plenty of judicial material, while the gradual consolidation of the state led defendants to the courts for offences that would previously have gone unpunished or were handled by self-appointed vigilantes. It was a time of many courts and few attorneys. A new legal culture prevailed.
Constantine E. Lambadarios. Photograph of Michail
Kalliabetsos’ studio. The photograph was taken in 1915, when Constantine was 76 years old.
At the age of 30, Constantine resigned from his position as an associate judge and devoted himself to practising law. His law offices were listed in the Boukas Business Guide in 1875, at this address: “Akademia Avenue, opposite the Serpieris residence.”
The university building, on a card issued before 1902. (year sent).
V. A. MAVROMATIS COLLECTION
Constantine E. Lambadarios in 1915.
He voted in the elections of December 1915, which the Venizelists boycotted.
The Lambadarios family transferred its civil rights from Aegina to Athens in 1904.
A volume from Civic Law by Georgios A. Rallis (1805 – 1883).
The first 16-page signature was missing and was copied by the diligent student and owner of the tome. Rallis was a professor of Constantine E. Lambadarios, but his book was taught in subsequent generations as well.
Read the full publication
Area of Kifisia (Profitis Ilias), still unbuilt, in the early 20th century.
V. A. MAVROMMATIS COLLECTION.
The “Hellenic” Commercial Law by Georgios Rallis, a leading professor at the Law School during the Othonian era. It was used by Constantine Lambadarios (1839-1930).
Income tax for Constantine E. Lambadarios in 1911. Taxation of income was established in 1909 and was levied in addition to the trade tax, which was the main tax. In 1911, a supplementary income tax was imposed, based on actual or imputed rental amount of a residence. Especially for attorneys, the business tax was calculated on the same basis.
Summons for residents of the village of Koukouvaounes to appear as witnesses before Associate Judge Constantine Lambadarios at what was then the rural location of Kalyftaki in Kifissia (1866). Apparently, the dispute related to the boundaries of an estate which had been unresolved for at least four years.
Athens 1869. In 1869, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) and Princess Alexandra visited Athens as guests of Greece's King George I, Alexandra’s brother. Returning to England, they obtained this photograph showing the area in which the first Lambadarios offices were located. Photograph by D. Konstantinidis. Source of photograph: RCIN 2700808. Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023. Documentation: Kleopatra Papaevangelou-Genakou, Ek themelion, Bank of Greece, Athens 2020.
Commercial paper. Purchase of 16 sacks of coffee on credit for 101 days Price 4,294 grosso and 6 pare. Constantinople, 1843. The debtor is listed on the back: “Vincenzo Guilielmis”. The creditor was coffee merchant Ioannis D. Mavrokordatos, Epaminondas Lambadarios’ father-in-law. The fact that the document was in Epaminondas’ possession would indicate that the debt was never paid, perhaps due to the cholera epidemic that began to affect the Ottoman territory in 1843. Epaminondas C. Lambadarios Archives.
Credit document in old Turkic writing with an Ottoman watermark, for 20,000 grosso.
Found in Epaminondas Lambadarios’ archives and probably related to his father-in-law's dealings.
The new election booklet issued for Constantine Lambadarios in 1925, when he was 87 years old. Parish of Zoodochos Pigi. Occupation: “Attorney”. From 1915, when his previous election booklet had been issued, he voted in all elections.
Claims for attorneys’ fees and expenses by Constantine E. Lambadarios, in the year 1898.
The handling of a complex case was paid 2.5 gold sovereigns.
1 grosso coin (about 1/27 of a British gold sovereign).
It bears the tughra emblem of Sultan Abdulhamid II and is dated 1876.
The 20 lepta coin of 1912 minted in 1913, based on Law 3641).
It weighed 5 grams, had a diameter of 23 millimetres and was made of 98% nickel. Hole diameter was 6 millimetres.
The 5 lepta coin of 1912 (minted in 1913, based on Law 3641).
It weighed 3 grams, had a diameter of 19 millimetres and was made of 98% nickel. Hole diameter was 5 millimetres. A newspaper cost 5 lepta.
The 10 lepta coin of 1912minted in 1913, based on Law 3641.
It weighed 4 grams, had a diameter of 21 millimetres and was made of 98% nickel. Hole diameter was 5.5 millimetres.