❖ by communicating the decision to authorised lawyers, consultants, and representatives. 388 In this regard, it should be mentioned that according to the Aylum Code, once a lawyer is appointed by the applicant at any stage of the procedure, the lawyer is considered to be a representative of the applicant for all stages of the procedures, including the service of the decision. This remains the case regardless of whether the applicant is actually and in fact represented by the lawyer at the time of the fictitious service, unless the appointment of the lawyer is revoked by a written declaration of the applicant with an authenticated signature. 389 The deadline for lodging an appeal against a negative decision begins on the day following its fictitious service. However, when the service of the decision is made via electronic means, the deadline begins 48 hours after the dispatch of the electronic message. 390 According to Art. 87(3) of the Asylum Code, together with the decision, a document in the language that the applicant understands or in a language that they may reasonably be supposed to understand is also communicated to the applicant, which explains in simple language the content of decision, its consequences and actions they may pursue. Alternatively, a link to the webpage of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum where relevant information is provided is included in the document. If the applicant resides in a Reception and Identification Centre or is detained in a detention facility, the decision is sent to the Head of the RIC or of the Detention facility, who has to ensure that a notice of receipt, as well as the times of delivery and distribution of the documents to applicants for each working day and time, is posted immediately in visible areas of the premises and draws up an act of receipt and posting. The deadline for lodging an appeal is three days after the act of receipt and posting has been drafted.391 No force majeure reason has to be invoked in order for a decision to be fictitiously served. If the applicant cannot be found/contacted through one of the abovementioned means, and no lawyer has been appointed, the decision is served to the Head of the RAO/AAU of the Asylum Service or the head of the RIC or the detention facility, after which it is deemed that the applicant has been notified of the decision. 392 In practice, on the mainland, first instance decisions are mainly served to applicants by e-mail, through their legal representatives or more seldom by registered mail. In cases of electronic notification of first instance decisions, provision of legal aid for the appeals procedure can be requested either in person at the competent RAO or through the electronic platform of the Ministry for Migration and Asylum. 393 If the latter is the only option (e.g., because the applicant lives far from the competent RAO), it significantly hinders the ability to appeal for those not familiar with the use of electronic applications or who do not have access to the required equipment/internet. Moreover, in practice, the notification of first instance decisions is also carried out by the Head of the RICs on the islands and in Evros and the Head of Preremoval detention facilities in Athens (Amygdaleza and Tavros). In both cases, the inability of the applicants to understand the content of the communicated documents and the procedure they have to follow has been observed. 1.4. Appeal Indicators: Regular Procedure: Appeal 1. Does the law provide for an appeal against the first instance decision in the regular procedure? Yes No ❖ If yes, is it Judicial Administrative ❖ If yes, is it automatically suspensive Yes Some grounds No 2. Average processing time for the appeal body to make a decision: reported at 91 days for the mainland (overall), 394 without specifications on the type of procedure concerned. 395 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 Article 87(3) Asylum Code. Article 76(7) Asylum Code. Article 87(3) Asylum Code. Article 87(4) Asylum Code. Article 87(5) Asylum Code. MoMA, Asylum Services, available here. MoMA, Statistics, Consolidated Reports - Overview: December 2024 - International Protection | Appendix A, available in Greek here, table 10b. It should be noted that the average length of procedure refers to the time from the filing to the issuance of a decision for the appeals filed from 01/12/2019 to 31/12/2024 and for which a decision was issued in the same period. 80