the English language. Additionally, every lawyer registered in the Registry must have completed a training seminar on International Protection Law, organised by the Asylum Service of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum in cooperation with other actors, before being assigned cases.473 The decision also explicitly provides for the possibility of legal assistance through videoconferencing in every Regional Asylum Office.474 The fixed fee of the Registry’s lawyers is € 90 for the drafting and submission of the appeal and of the suspension application if required, € 20 for the conclusion of the meeting with the appellant and € 50 for the memorandum, regardless of whether the appeal was filed by the applicant within the deadline provided by law or not. The fees are covered by the State. 475 Throughout 2024 there were delays in the payment of the fees due to the lawyers on the Legal Aid Register of the Asylum Service. As a result, in November 2024, following a decision of the Plenary of the Hellenic Bar Associations, the lawyers of the Registry abstained from their duties starting on 01.11.2024. The abstention was extended by a new decision of the Plenary, initially until 31.12.2024, and subsequently until 24.91.2025.476 In a letter dated 13 November 2024 addressed to the Director of the Asylum Service, the Administrative Director of the Appeals Authority, and the Director of the Reception and Identification Service, twenty civil society organisations, active in the field of migration and asylum, highlighted that the abstention from their duties of the lawyers of the Registry of the Asylum Service resulted in “a complete and objective inability of the Administration to meet its obligation to provide free legal assistance and representation at the second instance at the request of the persons concerned, as well as to ensure the continuation of such assistance throughout the appeal proceedings before the Independent Appeals Committees.” They also called for the suspension of issuance of first instance decisions rejecting and partially rejecting applications.477 In practice requests for legal aid at second instance are mainly submitted through the electronic platform of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, 478 notably because, as described above, first instance decisions may be notified to the applicants with a registered letter or other ways of notification and applicants’ access to RAOs/AAU is not unrestricted but a prior appointment is usually required, depending on the competent RAO/AAU. This may pose additional obstacles to applicants who are unfamiliar with the use of electronic applications or who do not have access to the required equipment/internet. In 2024, applicants continued to be advised to apply online for free legal aid. However, it has been noticed in certain RAOs/AAU that, in case of the decision’s notification in person to the applicant by the Asylum Service, the applicants are asked whether they would like to file a request for free legal aid in person on the same day and time. As previously mentioned, a total of 12,039 appeals were lodged against Asylum Service decisions in 2024, the majority of which (25.7%) were filed by appellants from Egypt, followed by those from Pakistan (11.3%), Sierra Leone (7.5%), Syria (6.9%) and Somalia (5.8%). 479 Data on the number of applicants that were granted free legal assistance at second instance through the Registry of Lawyers of the GAS is not available on the Ministry’s website. However, according to MoMA’s response to a relevant parliamentary question, a total of 7,902 applicants were granted state funded legal aid throughout 2024.480 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 Ministerial Decision 494476/2023, Gov. Gazette 6393/B/07.11.2023. Article 1(7) MD 788502/2023. Article 3 MD 788502/2023. EfSyn, Ξεκινούν αποχή οι απλήρωτοι δικηγόροι της διαδικασίας α��ύλου, 11.11.2024, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/3nhc37bu. Protocol Number β/147/13.11.2024. On file with the author. MoMA, Asylum Services, available here. MoMA, Statistics, Consolidated Reports - Overview: December 2024 – International Protection | Appendix A, available in Greek here, table 9b. As per information disclosed by the Minister of Migration and Asylum in reply to parliamentary question no. 3383/838/13.02.2025 on 7 March 2025. The reply is available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/2xwpkare. 90