L'ordinamento giuridico dello Stato monastico autonomo del Monte Athos tra diritto greco e diritto internazionale

The Autonomous Monastic State of Mount Athos represents a unique legal entity within both Greek constitutional law and international law. Its institutional framework, grounded in a millennium-old tradition of monastic self-government, has been formally recognized since 1924 through the Mount Athos’ Constitution (cma) and Article 105 of the Greek Constitution. This sui generis regime combines spiritual jurisdiction under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople with administrative autonomy exercised by the twenty monasteries of the Athonite peninsula, whose territory remains inalienable. At the supranational level, the special status of Mount Athos has been explicitly acknowledged by the European Communities upon Greece’s accession in 1979 and reaffirmed in Declaration No. 8 to the Amsterdam Treaty, allowing derogations from eu law in areas such as free movement and equality. Among the most controversial features of this legal order is the avaton, the prohibition of access for women, deeply rooted in canonical and theological tradition yet raising significant issues of compatibility with fundamental rights, equality, and European human rights obligations. The study highlights how Mount Athos stands as an exceptional case of legal pluralism, where religious autonomy, constitutional guarantees, and international commitments intersect in a still unresolved balance.