Α. Administrative procedures and problems The fact that the numbers of applications compared to the number of new arrivals were low saved the day, as mentioned above (13,917 asylum applications in 2015, with 851,319 arrivals by the sea borders,96 a 1/61 ratio), as long as the routes to the Western Balkans corridor were open, as well as the postponement of removal provided for by law in the cases where return to the country of origin is not possible, an interpretation adopted by the Hellenic Police with a circular for Syrian citizens, 3 years however after the entry into effect of Law 3907/2011 and with constant recommendations by the UN for non-refoulement to Syria. In 2015, the Greek Ombudsman repeatedly recommended97 a similar implementation of the law also for Iraqi citizens,98 a recommendation which the Ombudsman repeated in many cases, until the issue was resolved in November 2015 with a relevant circular decree of the Hellenic Police99 on including the Iraqis under the non-refoulement status of the new Article 78A of Law 3386/2005. It would of course be an exaggeration to attribute the change in the interpretation of the law exclusively to the persistence of the Greek Ombudsman: The relevant decree issued by the Hellenic Police takes into consideration the inclusion of the Iraqi asylum seekers in the relocation program to another Member State of the European Union. But what changed in the management of the arriving, potentially refugee populations in July 2015? When the conditions of the principle of non-refoulement apply, the procedure followed is no longer a deportation decision and then a removal postponement, but a certificate of non-removal is granted from the start for humanitarian reasons. This regulation of the new article 78A of Law 3386/2005, which occurred with Article 18 of Law 4332/2015, is a very positive development, in response to the Ministry of Interior towards the UNHCR and the Greek Ombudsman, and is of course adopted during a period when the goal is to simplify procedures and speed up the processing of the cases that are massively arriving. A Hellenic Police circular in August 96 See note 81. 97 Cases No. Φ 197333, 199117, 201627 and 204275/2015. 98 The Greek Ombudsman, based also on the position of the UNHCR as regards non-detention and the impracticability of the return of Iraqi citizens (UN Recommendation of October 2014 http://www.refworld.org/docid/544e4b3c4. html,) noted that in their case the administrative detention ceases to serve its purpose, becoming incompatible with Article 24(4) of Law 3907/2011 and contrary to the principle of proportionality of liberty depriving measures (Article 5(3) of the Constitution, Article 5 ECHR (decision of the ECtHR, Tabesh versus Greece, Application No. 8256/07, (2009), conviction of our country for detention due to impossible deportation). 99 Circular 1604/15/2189144/30-11-2015. 32 2015100 clarified that this certificate also covers newly incoming citizens of Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Palestine, Eritrea, Somalia, and in November, as mentioned above also of Iraq. Skype: a technical solution that has become part of the problem of access to asylum The Asylum Service in 2015 launched a system for scheduling, through skype, appointments for the registration of asylum applications, which is still implemented to this day. The Greek Ombudsman in 2015 submitted two related observations: a) The above restrictive system for the receipt of asylum applications appears to be in contrast with the principle of the universal, continuous and unhindered access to the asylum procedure, to the extent that the system of registration via skype cannot respond to a large number of calls. b) It poses risks for fundamental issues, because during the period between the scheduling of the registration through the Skype application and the final submission of the asylum application there is a very real risk for the arrest, detention and return of the “potential asylum seekers”. Both these issues were increasingly current throughout 2016, since the main problem for the free applicants, was and still is the difficulty to access the asylum procedures, especially the Regional Asylum Office of Attica (in 2016 also the Regional Asylum Office of Thessaloniki).101 It is understandable that the weight of the Asylum Service in 2016 has now shifted to the temporary accommodation facilities on the mainland and the examination of the applications at the hotspots. However, the collateral loss appears to be the applications from the rest of the population, in combination with the asylum application receipt system only via skype. The Greek Ombudsman recommended and continues to recommend a flexible system for vulnerable or urgent cases,102 as well as the prevention of the arrest of those who have booked an appointment via skype, by recording them in the electronic file for the Mapping of Thirdcountry Nationals, as is the case with the pre-registration of asylum applications. 100 Circular 1604/15/1423412/10-8-2015. 101 In some cases, the interested parties served an application via court bailiff, claiming force majeure by the inadequacy of the service to respond to the connection via skype (cases No. Φ. 219555, 219556/2016 etc.). 102 There are cases that are not even covered by skype’s communication languages (case No. 215904/2016).