Refugee Survey Quarterly  93 regarding asylum applications lodged by detainees after 7 June 2013 because the provisions of the “new” procedure are applicable. In practice, however, the Hellenic Police continue issuing detention orders, invoking Presidential Decree 114/2010, for persons who have lodged asylum applications before 7 June 2013 and were subsequently arrested and detained. These cases concern asylum-seekers deemed to be a danger to public order and/or national security, as well as asylum-seekers with interrupted applications. It should be stressed that, due to the obstacles of access to asylum procedures, it is likely that persons in need of international protection may be arrested before succeeding to submit their application. In this case, their only option is to submit an asylum application while in detention where they may remain for a total period of up to 18 months. The most recent provisions of Law 4375/2016, as was also the case of Presidential Decree 113/2013 which governed the “new” procedure until 2 June 2016,42 contains some additional safeguards which are not provided for persons who applied for asylum before 7 June 2013 and are detained under the provisions of Presidential Decree 114/2010. More precisely, in order to impose detention in the framework of the “new” procedure under Law 4375/2016, the authorities must prove that access to asylum procedures, before arrest, was effective. Furthermore, for detention grounds not related to national security and public order, a detention order issued by the police should take into account the opinion/proposal of the Asylum Service. This latter provision could be useful in avoiding systematic prolongation of detention by the police for TCNs who have applied for asylum in detention. Moreover, further safeguards exist under Law 4375/2016. The initial detention order, as well as any extension, is subject to automatic judicial examination and periodic review, and free legal aid for judicial challenge of detention orders is provided. Additionally, Greek legislation provides that asylum applicants should be detained in pre-removal detention centres, excluding the possibility of detention in police holding cells or border guard stations where conditions are generally worse.43 Finally, the possible lack of appropriate spaces and difficulties in ensuring decent living conditions for the detainees as well as any vulnerabilities should be also considered in the decision to extend detention. Though increased safeguards for asylum-seekers under the “new” procedure are welcomed, the coexistence of two legislative tools – Presidential Decree 114/2010 and Law 42 Art. 12(4) of Presidential Decree 113/2013 provided that when detention was imposed on grounds (1) and (3) the detention order was taken upon a proposal of the Head of the respective examination authority, Art. 12 5) provided that applicants should be detained in detention areas as provided in Art. 31 of Law 3907/2011 (pre-removal detention centres established in accordance with the provisions of the Return Directive) excluding detention in police holding cells or border guard stations where conditions are generally worse and Art. 12(6) provided that the possible lack of appropriate spaces and difficulties in ensuring decent living conditions of the detainees should be also considered for the imposition or prolongation of detention. 43 Art. 31 of Law 3907/2011 provides that detention takes place in the pre-removal detention centres established in accordance with the provisions of the EU Return Directive. See also CJEU, Adala Bero v. Regierungspr€asidium Kassel and Ettayebi Bouzalmate v. Kreisverwaltung Kleve, Judgment, Grand Chamber, Joined Cases C-473/13 and C-514/13, 17 Jul. 2014, para. 29: “The national authorities responsible for applying the national legislation transposing Article 16 of Directive 2008/115 must therefore be able to detain third-country nationals in specialised detention facilities”. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/rsq/article-abstract/36/1/85/2888417 by Lancaster University user on 19 December 2017