Epidaurian Organic Statute of 1822

Epidaurian Organic Statute of 1822 

the first Greek constitution, adopted during the Greek National Liberation Revolution of 1821–29 (Greek War of Independence).

The statute, adopted by the National Assembly on Jan. 13, 1822, at Piada, near Epidaurus, established a republican form of government in Greece, dividing power among the legislative, executive, and judiciary. The five-member executive was charged with carrying out the acts of the legislative body, appointing ministers, and commanding the armed forces. The statute guaranteed that the state would defend private property and the safety of the individual and affirmed the equal right of all to hold government office. Freedom of religion was proclaimed. In accordance with the statute, a provisional government was established in Corinth.

The Epidaurian Organic Statute did not address the question of how to dispose of the former Turkish holdings, a matter of importance for the Greek peasantry. In 1830 a three-power conference, attended by Russia, Great Britain, and France, imposed a monarchical system on Greece and, in effect, nullified the Epidaurian Organic Statute.

PUBLICATION

Prokesch-Osten, A. Geschichte des Abfalls der Griechen vom Tiirkis-chen Reiche im Jahre 1821, vol. 3. Vienna, 1867. Pages 249–58.

G. D. ARSH