entry or stay, in line with CJEU case law. 648 The opinion also pointed out that communication with such parties is covered by client-attorney privilege under lex specialis provisions of the Lawyers’ Code of Conduct.649 From 16 February 2021 to date, and according to the final lists of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum concerning the Registry of the lawyers providing legal assistance to asylum applicants at the second instance, 24 lawyers were appointed on the islands. These lawyers have been appointed to provide free legal aid under the State-funded legal aid scheme at second instance as follows: 12 lawyers on Lesvos, 2 lawyers on Samos, 4 lawyers on Chios, 2 lawyers on Kos, 2 lawyers on Rhodes, and 2 lawyers on Leros.650 Based on legal actors’ observations, including GCR, however, there were usually not that many lawyers operational, due to administrative obstacles and issues. Additionally, lawyers appointed on the islands do not necessarily reside on the islands. Most of the times, the meetings between asylum applicants and lawyers were made through phone or video-call and not with physical presence. Since June 2020, by decision of the administration of the Central Asylum Service, there has been a “[p]rovision of legal assistance through video conference to the Regional Asylum Services of Leros, Samos, Chios and Lesvos due to increased needs in the provision of legal aid services in the second degree to applicants for international protection”. As a result, some asylum applicants reported communication issues with their State-registered lawyers and the short duration of their preparation meetings. In 2024, the total number of appeals lodged in Greece against first instance negative decisions was 12,039, of which only the 7% were lodged before the islands’ RAOs and the rest (93)% in the mainland’s RAOs.651 The total number of appellants who applied and benefited from free legal aid was 2,577 in the 1st Quarter, 2,259 in the 2nd Quarter, 2,556 in the 3rd Quarter and 688 in the 4th Quarter of 2024. 652 There are no available statistics with regard to the number of cases for which free legal assistance from Registry Lawyers was requested in the Eastern Aegean Islands’ RAOs. As also mentioned in the Regular Procedure: Legal assistance no tailored State-funded free legal aid scheme exists for submitting judicial remedies before Courts against a second instance negative decision. 6. Accelerated procedure 6.1. General (scope, grounds for accelerated procedures, time limits) The Asylum Code provides that the basic principles and guarantees applicable to the regular procedure also apply in the accelerated procedure and that “the accelerated procedure shall have as a sole effect to reduce the time limits”.653 The law does not provide for a general exemption of vulnerable applicants from the accelerated procedure. The only exception regards UAM under the age of 15 who may be subjected to the accelerated procedure only under conditions (see further below). The wording of the law remains misleading, considering that the accelerated procedure entails exceptions from automatic suspensive effect and thereby applicants’ right to remain on the territory. According to Article 88(4) Asylum Code, the examination of an application under the accelerated procedure must be concluded within 20 days, subject to the possibility of a 10-day exception. The Asylum Service is in charge of issuing first instance decisions for both regular and accelerated procedures. An application is being examined under the accelerated procedure when:654 (a) the applicant during the submission of their application invoked reasons that manifestly do not meet the conditions of the status of refugee or of subsidiary protection; (b) the applicant comes from a Safe Country of Origin; (c) the applicant has misled the authorities by presenting false information or documents or by withholding relevant information or documents regarding their identity and/or nationality which could adversely affect the decision; (d) the applicant has likely destroyed or disposed in bad faith of documents of identity or travel which would help determine their identity or nationality; 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 Bar Association of Athens, Opinion No. 143, 11 September 2023. For more information in English, see ELENA, Greece: Athens Bar Association’s interpretation of the Greek Bar Code on guaranteeing the lawyer-asylum applicant relationship without criminalisation, 12 September 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3Ja4TCL. Ibid. MoMA, Decision No 1836/21, 16 February 2021. MoMA statistics, Report A December 2024 Reception, Asylum and Integration Procedures, available here, 9. Ibid, 10. Art. 88 (2) Asylum Code. Art. 88 (9) Asylum Code. 129