v The Administrative Court can only examine the legality of the decision and not the merits of the case. v The judicial procedure is lengthy. GCR is aware of cases pending for a period of about two years for the issuance of a decision of the Administrative Court of Appeals following an application for annulment. Moreover, according to Article 114(2) of the Asylum Code, the Minister on Migration and Asylum also has the right to lodge an application for annulment against the decisions of the Appeals Committee before the Administrative Court. In 2020, the Minister on Migration and Asylum lodged one application for annulment against a second instance decision of the Appeals Committees. The Appeals Committee rejected the Minister’s appeal and ruled that an applicant for whom a decision to discontinue the examination of the asylum application due to implicit withdrawal has been issued, cannot be removed before the nine months period during which she can report again to the competent authority in order to request her case be reopened. The Minister appealed to the Council of State which, on 27 June 2022, which issued its decision No. 1398/2022, accepting the Minister’s application for annulment.414 A total of 191 applications for annulment were lodged before the Administrative Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki against second instance negative decisions throughout 2023, of which only 1 was accepted and 156 were still pending at the end of the year.415 During the same period, a total of 940 decisions on applications for annulment were issued, of which 72 were accepted, 247 were rejected as unfounded, 587 were rejected as inadmissible and 34 concerned resignations.416 1.5. Legal assistance Indicators: Regular Procedure: Legal Assistance 1. Do asylum seekers have access to free legal assistance at first instance in practice? Yes With difficulty No v Does free legal assistance cover: Representation in interview Legal advice 2. Do asylum seekers have access to free legal assistance on appeal against a negative decision in practice? Yes With difficulty No v Does free legal assistance cover Representation in courts Legal advice Asylum seekers have the right to consult, at their own cost, a lawyer or other legal advisor on matters relating to their application.417 Legal assistance at first instance No state-funded free legal aid is provided at first instance, nor is there a legal obligation to provide it. A number of non-governmental organisations (NGO) provide free legal assistance and counselling to asylum seekers at first instance, depending on their capacity and presence across the country. The scope of these services remains limited, taking into consideration the number of applicants in Greece and the needs throughout the whole asylum procedure – including registration of the application, first and second instance, judicial review and the complexity of the procedures followed, in particular after the entry into force of the IPA. As noted by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ‘[t]he Working Group urges the Government to expand the availability of publicly funded legal aid so that persons seeking international 414 415 416 417 Council of State, Decision No. 1398/2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/45s5Q3e. MoMA, Statistics, Consolidated Reports - Overview: December 2023 - International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://tinyurl.com/wn2kukaa, table 13a. Ibid., table 13b. Article 71(1) IPA and Article 76(1) Asylum Code. 86