Official Opposition (32) Minor Opposition (112) The Parliament of the Hellenes (Greek: Βουλή των Ελλήνων, romanized: Voulí ton Ellínon), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (Greek: Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, romanized: Ellinikó Koinovoúlio), is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens.

The first national parliament of the independent Greek state was established in 1843, after the 3 September Revolution, which forced King Otto to grant a constitution.

In October 1862, a rising wave of discontent led the people and the military to rebel again against King Otto and oust him along with the Wittelsbach dynasty.

Moreover, the king preserved the right to convoke ordinary and extraordinary parliamentary sessions, and dissolve parliament at his discretion, as long as the cabinet signed and endorsed the dissolution decree.

This "President of the Republic" would be held unaccountable from a political point of view; he would not possess any legislative powers and could only dissolve the parliament with the senate's approval.

It also recognized the status of political parties as organic elements of the polity and established their proportional representation in the composition of parliamentary committees.

It modernized parliamentary functions, propped up decentralization, elevated the status of fundamental independent authorities into constitutional institutions, and adopted its provisions on MPs' disqualifications and incompatibilities to current reality after taking into consideration the Special Highest Court's case law.

The most recent revision took place in 2008 and introduced several reforms and amendments; it abrogated professional incompatibility and as for growth and development measures extending on insular and mountainous areas, the central administration now assumed special responsibility thereof.

[9] With the exception of university professors, public servants (including members of the Armed Forces) are barred from running for parliament, unless they permanently resign their office before promulgation.

[15] The president of the parliamentary group with the second highest proportion of MPs, i.e. head of the political party that is not in government, is referred to as the leader of the major opposition, and enjoys special prerogatives, such as extra time to speak before the assembly.

[16] Members of parliament are immune from criminal prosecution, arrest or detention while in office,[17] with the exception of crimes committed in flagrante delicto.

[17] However, both the constitution and the standing orders allow for the Public Prosecutor's Office to request the parliament to lift an MP's immunity for a particular crime, with MPs deciding through open balloting.

[33] By virtue of the Greek constitution, the speaker shall temporarily exercise the office of president of the republic should the latter be absent abroad for more than ten days, passes away, resigns, is deposed or hindered from performing his duties for any reason whatsoever.

[42] The Conference of Presidents (Διάσκεψη των Προέδρων, Diaskepsi ton Proedron), introduced by the parliament's standing orders in 1987 and sanctioned by the 2001 constitutional revision, decides the weekly agenda, determines the procedure and duration for the discussion of bills (both in committee and in plenary), and may decide to conduct an organized discussion on a specific topic or topics.

[47] Government bills are called draft laws (Σχέδιο Νόμου, Skhedio Nomou) and must always be accompanied by the General Accounting Office's report estimating its effect on the state budget.

[57] The government may designate a draft bill or law proposal as "very urgent" and request from parliament for the voting to take place after limited debate in one sitting.

[59] If it accepts the request, it examines the bill in one sitting[60] and must submit its report within the time constraints set by the speaker (usually within 6–8 hours).

[64] Once the list of speakers is exhausted or the ten-hour constraint has elapsed, voting takes place on the bill's principle and articles and as a whole.

[66] In most cases an absolute majority (50% plus one) is sufficient for a vote to pass provided there are at least 75 MPs present in the plenum,[67] with the exception of certain bills for which the constitution requires for a higher threshold.

[75] The plenum exercises parliamentary control at least twice a week, which includes petitions, written and oral questions, applications to submit documents and interpellations.

To the extent provided by law and the standing orders, they may also discuss issues that fall within their competence and give opinions on forthcoming appointments to certain public posts.

These are the committees on the financial statement and the general balance sheet and the implementation of the state budget, European affairs, monitoring of the social security system, and armament programs and contracts Special committees are established by the speaker upon government request in order to elaborate and examine specific bills or law proposals.

There are eight special permanent committees on institutions and transparency; Greeks abroad; environmental protection; research and technology; equality, youth and human rights; regions; road safety; and parliamentary ethics.

When no parliamentary business is conducted, the station broadcasts a selection of films, plays, classical music concerts, opera and ballet performances and historical documentaries.

The program carries the twin aims of alerting parliamentarians to the needs and perspectives of younger generations, and to educate teenagers in the practice of proper debating and participation in public life.

[117] The original meeting place of the Hellenic Parliament was the house of Athenian magnate and politician Alexandros Kontostavlos, in central Athens, which was used for the first time after King Otto was forced to grant a constitution in 1843.

After more extensive renovations, the Senate convened in the "Old Palace" (Παλαιά Ανάκτορα) on 2 August 1934, followed by the Fifth National Assembly on 1 July 1935.

The main chamber of parliament, on the ground floor, is amphitheatrical in layout, and is panelled in purple and purple-veined white marble, with inlaid gold ornaments.

The speaker's chair, the lectern, the ministerial and state functionary benches, and the shorthand's vault are made of carved wood and are laid out facing the MP seats.

Despite renovations, parliamentary functions have outpaced the capacity of the listed building, and some ancillary services have moved to nearby offices around Syntagma Square.