in-merits rejection of an appeal without examination of the substance raises serious concerns as to the effectiveness of the remedy and the principle of non-refoulement. This obligation also disregards the criticism that the law on asylum “puts an excessive burden on asylum applicants and focuses on punitive measures. It introduces tough requirements that an asylum applicant could not be reasonably expected to fulfil”.442 As noted by UNHCR already in 2020, these provisions “are expected to have a negative impact on applicants’ access to the second instance and the proper examination of their appeal, and as such seriously undermine the right to an effective remedy”.443 The First Instance Administrative Court of Thessaloniki filed a request for preliminary ruling by the CJEU,444 asking the Luxemburg Court whether the non-appearance of the appellant before the Appeals Committees on the day of the examination of their appeal and the rejection thereof as “manifestly unfounded”, without a full and ex nunc examination of both facts and points of law, complies with the right to an effective remedy provided in the Article 46 of the Directive 2013/32/EU.445 The case is still pending before the Court. However, according to the Opinion of the CJEU’s Advocate General, published on 6 February 2025, the provisions laid down by Greek legislation concerning the examination of appeals against a first instance negative asylum decision by the Appeals Committees make it excessively difficult to exercise the right of appeal and disproportionately impede the right to appeal and judicial protection.446 In 2025, a total of 4,680 appeals were rejected as manifestly unfounded, of which 67.4% (or 3,154) concerned the application of the safe country of origin concept.447 For the rest (1,526), statistics issued by the MoMA do not include a breakdown and, therefore, it remains impossible to assess the exact legal basis of these rejections. Issuance of a Decision: Article 106 Asylum Code provides that decisions have to be issued as soon as possible and in any case: (a) Within thirty (30) days of the hearing of the case in the regular procedure, (b) Within twenty (20) days of the hearing in the accelerated procedure, (c) Within ten (10) days of the hearing when the appellant is under administrative detention, (d) Within twenty (20) days of the hearing when the application was rejected at first instance as inadmissible in accordance with Article 89. An exception is introduced for priority cases, as the decision must be issued within 15 days of the hearing. Notification of second instance decision: Similar to the fictitious service at first instance, the Asylum Code provides for the possibility of a fictitious service (πλασματική επίδοση) of second instance decisions as described above.448 Considering that the “fictitious” service of the second instance decision triggers the deadline for lodging an appeal, these deadlines for legal remedies against a negative second instance decision may expire without the applicant being actually informed about the decision. As noted by the Greek Ombudsperson, these provisions “effectively limit the access of asylum applicants to judicial protection” and though “the need to streamline procedures is understandable ... in a State governed by law, this cannot restrict fundamental democratic guarantees, such as judicial protection”.449 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 UNHCR, “UNHCR urges Greece to strengthen safeguards in draft asylum law”, 24 October 2019, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2vmnjc3x. UNHCR, UNHCR Comments on the Law on ‘International Protection and other Provisions’ (Greece), February 2020, available here, Ibid. CJEU, Case C-610/23, Al Nasiria, Request for a preliminary ruling from the Dioikitiko Protodikeio Thessalonikis (Greece) lodged on 3 October 2023 — FO v Ypourgos Metanastefsis kai Asylou, available here. See First Instance Administrative Court of Thesssaloniki, Decision Nr 560/2023, 19 December 2023, available in Greek here. Opinion of the CJEU Advocate General of 6 February 2025 - Case C-610/23 (Al Nasiria), FO v Minister for Immigration and Asylum, 6 February 2025, reference for a preliminary ruling from the Administrative Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki (Greece), available here. MoMA, Statistics: Consolidated Reports – Overview, December 2025 - International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://tinyurl.com/26ynfarp Table 8b. Article 87 and 108 Asylum Code. Ombudsperson, Παρατηρήσεις στο σχέδιο νόμου Προσαρμογή της Ελληνικής Νομοθεσίας προς τις διατάξεις της Οδηγίας 2013/33/ΕΕ (αναδιατύπωση 29.6.13) σχετικά με τις απαιτήσεις για την υποδοχή των αιτούντων διεθνή προστασία κ.ά. διατάξεις, April 2018, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/2xkbed6r, pp 7-8. 94