Appeals Committees have continued to dismiss alleged infringements of Article 72(3) Asylum Code stemming from the failure of the Asylum Service to exempt the applicant from the fast-track border procedure, on the ground that the appellant has not demonstrated procedural damage (δικονομική βλάβη). The position of the Appeals Committees remains incompatible with the case law of administrative courts, according to which failure to refer such cases to the regular procedure unlawfully circumvents the special protection afforded by law to vulnerable groups. Illustrative of the above is a decision issued by the Supreme Administrative Court of Pireus (decision Α65/2023) in the case of a vulnerable woman from Iraq, whose decision recognizing her vulnerability and referring her to the normal procedure was not taken into consideration by the Asylum authorities, even if it was issued before the issuance of 1st instance decision rejecting her asylum application. According to the Court: “the legislator establishes special treatment for applicants for international protection, who are proven to belong to the category of vulnerable persons. [...] the applicant's application for international protection was referred to the normal procedure, as it was judged that she [...] suffers from a mental illness. Both the Regional Asylum Office of Lesvos, which examined in first instance her application for the granting of international protection, issuing its decision [...] after the issuance of the above decision, as well as the Independent Appeals Authority that examined her appeal, should have refrained from issuing a decision and refer the case back to the competent authorities, in order to re-examine the asylum request, based on the guarantees of the normal procedure (longer deadline, possible search for legal assistance), after conducting a new interview of the applicant by an employee of the Asylum Service specialized in vulnerability issues [...]”659. Unaccompanied children below the age of 15, as well as unaccompanied children who are victims of trafficking, torture, rape, or other forms of serious psychological, physical and sexual violence, are always processed under the regular procedure.660 For those aged 15 or over who are not victims of trafficking, torture or violence, exemption from special procedures depends on the individual grounds applied by the authorities in each case:661 Exemption of unaccompanied children aged 15 or over from special procedures Accelerated procedure Ground Claim unrelated to protection Border and fast-track border procedures √ Ground Protection in another Member State √ Safe country of origin x First country of asylum √ False information or documents √ Safe third country X Destruction or disposal of documents √ Subsequent application X Clearly unconvincing application √ Application by dependant √ Subsequent application x Claim unrelated to the protection √ Application to frustrate return proceedings √ Safe country of origin X Application not as soon as possible √ False information or documents X Refusal to be fingerprinted under Eurodac √ Destruction or disposal of documents X Threat to public order or national security x Clearly unconvincing claim √ Refusal to be fingerprinted under national law √ Application to frustrate return proceedings √ Vulnerable person √ Application not as soon as possible √ Refusal to be fingerprinted under Eurodac √ Threat to public order or national security X Refusal to be fingerprinted under national law √ Vulnerable person √ 659 660 661 Decision A65/2023 of the Supreme Administrative Court of Pireus in GCR/HIAS/RSA, Δελτίο Νομολογίας Ασύλου 1/2023, June 2023, pp. 26-27, available at: https://bit.ly/4bbuWWd. The case was legally supported by GCR. Article 80(7) of the Asylum Code. Articles 88(10) and 95(4) of the Asylum Code. 143