Over the years the ECtHR has found that the objections remedy is not accessible in practice, 1245 that detention order are only written in Greek and include general and vague references regarding the legal avenues available to the applicants to challenge their detention and that applicants do not appear to have access to lawyers.1246 Moreover, the ECtHR has found on various occasions the objections procedure to be an ineffective remedy, contrary to Article 5(4) ECHR, 1247 as the lawfulness of detention, including detention conditions, was not examined. In order to bring national law in line with ECHR standards, legislation was amended in 2010. Notwithstanding, the ECtHR subsequently found in a number of cases that the lawfulness of applicants’ detention had not been examined in a manner equivalent to the standards required by Article 5(4) ECHR,1248 and “the applicant did not have the benefit of an examination of the lawfulness of his detention to an extent sufficient to reflect the possibilities offered by the amended version” of the law. 1249 In the ECtHR judgment of 15 October 2024 in H.T. v Germany and Greece, supported by GCR, the Court found again a violation of Article 5(4) ECHR due to the lack of effective examination of the detention by the domestic court following the ”objections against detention” submitted by the applicant. 1250 Lack of effective remedies against detention was also found in the ECtHR’s Decision in the case of B.F. v. Greece (App. No. 59816/13), which became final in January 2026. This case law of the ECtHR illustrates that the amendment of the national legislation cannot itself guarantee an effective legal remedy in order to challenge immigration detention, including the detention of asylum applicants. 1251 Effectiveness of the judicial review in Objection against detention Based on the cases supported by GCR, it seems that the objections procedure may be marred by a lack of legal security and predictability, which is aggravated by the fact that no appeal stage is provided in order to harmonise and/or correct the decisions of the Administrative Courts. GCR has supported a number of cases where the relevant Administrative Courts’ decisions were contradictory, even though the facts were substantially the same. A more detailed analysis of the case law of the Greek Court and the effectiveness of the remedy against detention can be found in the Joint GCR/ECRE Submission before the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe with regards the execution of the MD v. Greece group of cases.1252 These findings are valid up until the date of writing this report. 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 ECtHR, J.R. and Others v. Greece, Application No 22696/16, Judgment of 25 January 2018, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3MAFjYN, para 99. ECtHR, O.S.A. v. Greece, Application No 39065/16, Judgment of 21 March 2019, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3WwhOEU; ECHR, Kaak v. Greece, Application No 34215/16, Judgment of 3 October 2019, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/43bEmgD. See e.g., ECtHR, Rahimi v. Greece Application No 8687/08, Judgment of 5 April 2011, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3IDXE69; R.U. v. Greece Application No 2237/08, Judgment of 7 June 2011, available at: https://bit.ly/3MA2QsP; C.D. v. Greece, Application No 33468/10, Judgment of 19 March 2014, available at: https://bit.ly/3RH72us. ECtHR, R.T. v. Greece, Application no 5124/11, Judgment of 11 February 2016, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3qdUKhU; Mahammad and others v. Greece, Application No 48352/12, 15 January 2015, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/437MYVF; MD v. Greece, Application No 60622/11, Judgment of 13 November 2014, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3OF4Xyd; Housein v. Greece, Application No 71825/11, Judgment of 24 October 2013, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3OFLj5d. In this last case, the Court found a violation of Article 3 combined with Article 13, due to lack of an effective remedy in the Greek context in order to control detention conditions. ECtHR, S.Z. v. Greece, Application No 66702/13, Judgment of 21 June 2018, available at: https://bit.ly/45tcBBL, para 72. ECtHR, H.T. v Germany and Greece, application no. 13337/19, 15 October 2024, paras. 104-109. For the time being there are also two pending case before the Court where an issue under the Article 5(4) ECHR has been raised, see ECtHR, M.S.J.J. v. Greece, application no. 51975/17, communicated on 5 February 2024; K.A. and others v. Greece, App. no. 43784/20, communicated on 27 November 2023. GCR/ECRE, Communication in accordance with Rule 9.2. of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers regarding the supervision of the execution of judgments and of terms of friendly settlements by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) & the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) - GROUP OF CASES OF MD V. GREECE, Application No. 60622/11, available here. 250