PETROS I. PARARAS
Analecta. Interventions in legal and political theory
ed. Sakkulas, p. 486

Scientific reflection, if we move away from the intensity of current affairs and the Manichaeism of the moment, to a large extent contributes to an objective assessment of the facts and, ultimately, to the search for truth as such. In this sense, the “Analects” of the emeritus professor of public law and honorary vice-president of the Council of State Petros I. Pararas are something more than “Interventions in Legal and Political Theory”. In fact, this is a study of the interaction of legal theory and current political events over the past fifty years, according to the methodological classification of the author himself.

The way in which the doctrine of law becomes an applied art and an instrument of social coexistence.

It should be recognized that from the point of view of bibliographic categorization, this genre has not found wide distribution in domestic title records. In his autobiography, judge, scholar, academic educator and, above all, suspicious and vigilant citizen, Petros Pararas attempts to approach legal issues whose origins often boil down to violent social disputes. The material of the book is divided into three thematic sections. The first includes his most influential positions as a judge in shaping the jurisprudence of the highest administrative court, that is, the contribution of the legal scholar to the dialogue between theory and jurisprudence of the court. Mainly, the way in which the doctrine of law becomes an applied art and an instrument of social coexistence in the context of the difference crossed by every judicial decision. It is not only the principle of proportionality, whose legal and constitutional consolidation owes much to the defense of Pararas. The author was concerned, among other things, with the effective exercise of rights, the normative content of the welfare state, and the internal procedures of parliament.

In the second part of the book, the speeches of the journalist and the learned lawyer in the daily and periodical press are anthologised in chronological order. In this regard, it is obvious that the sociologist’s concern is not limited to the technocratic dialogue of fellow artists. He also seeks to disseminate his positions in the wider forums of civil society, speaking in their direction with an understandable and sufficiently analytical speech. In other words, as a result, it contributes to the democratization of knowledge in order to form rather suspicious citizens. Accepting the duty that one way or another falls on every scientist as a duty of reciprocity to society, the author does not calm down. This means that it is not enough to produce work in an academic or judicial ecosystem protected by sanitary regulations. On the contrary, he opens up to society, explains, analyzes, takes a position on the field – sometimes in the midst of public debate.

In the last section, under the heading “Milestones of a legal autobiography”, the author probably surprises us, as he tries to present his social path in a way that is not, so to speak, meaningless. It is interesting here both to indicate the reasons that illuminate the motives of the writer, and sometimes the revisionist reading of the situation from the point of view of fact, which led to an ambiguous choice. However, it is worth noting that it is not customary to look back at past realities on the part of their authors, when in fact historical time has confirmed the irreversibility of their consequences. The stated intention of publicly acting subjects to return to the poetic reasons for their actions or inactions has even psychoanalytic value, especially when the latter took place during stressful times.

There is no doubt that P. Pararas was and remains a versatile intellectual and active citizen. It doesn’t matter if people agree or disagree. What certainly makes his contribution to the theory and jurisprudence of public law outstanding is his active participation and constant presence in current affairs. In any case, his work is seen as an indisputable presumption of his experiential path – that is, what constitutes Proust’s “returned” version of the lived time.

Ms. Aikaterini Papanicolaou is a lawyer and member of the Office of Information Privacy Protection.