be – and often are – taken by Committees composed by higher-court judges (Administrative Judges of the Administrative Courts of Appeal). 263 In October 2021, the Council of State held by majority that the competence of First Instance Administrative Courts to judicially review decisions of the Appeals Committees, even in cases where the second instance decisions on asylum applications are taken by Committees composed by higher-court judges, is constitutional.264 Specifically, it considered that Appeals Committees are a “collective administrative body” which exercises “competences of a judicial function”, and that judges participate therein not as judicial officials but as “state officials – members of independent authorities of the executive”. First-instance administrative courts therefore judicially review decisions by executive bodies, not rulings by judicial officials. Accordingly, the judicial review carried out by lower judges of decisions taken by higher judges was not deemed contrary to the principle of judicial independence and impartiality. 265 EASO’s (now EUAA) role at second instance Since 2017, the law foresees that “in case of a large number of appeals”, the Appeals Committees might be assisted by “rapporteurs” provided by EASO (now EUAA). 266 These rapporteurs have access to the files and are entrusted with drafting a detailed and in-depth report, that will contain a record and statement of the facts of the case along with the main claims of the appellant, as well as a matching of said claims (αντιστοίχιση ισχυρισμών) with the country of origin information that will be presented before the competent Committee in order to decide. 267 Both the IPA and the Asylum Code maintain the same tasks for “rapporteurs” provided by EASO. 268 However, according to the IPA, this is not only foreseen “in case of a large number of appeals”. Articles95(4) IPA and 100 (4) Asylum Code stipulate that each member of the Appeals Committee may be assisted by “rapporteurs” provided by EASO. As of 31 December 2021, 20 Rapporteurs were assisting the Appeals Committees members pursuant to Art. 95(4) IPA. 269 Since they are seconded to the individual Committees, these Rapporteurs are not supervised or line-managed by EASO/EUAA.270 Number of appeals and recognition rates at second instance 16,830 appeals were lodged against Asylum Service decisions in 2022. 271 The Independent Appeals Committees handed down 16,878 decisions in 2022: 272 Decisions on the merits by the Independent Appeals Committees: 2022 Refugee status Subsidiary protection Rejected & Inadmissible 661 394 7,884 Source: Ministry of Migration and Asylum As in previous years,273 the recognition rate at second instance remained significantly low at 11.6%, 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 Council of State, ‘Γνωστοποίηση της υπ' αριθ. 19/12-10-2020 πράξης της Επιτροπής του άρθρου 1 παρ. 1 του ν. 3900/2010’, 19 October 2020, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3kUeHSV; RSA, The Council of State pilot procedure on judicial review in the asylum procedure, 1 February 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/2R8uOTx. Council of State, Decision Nr. 1580-1/2021, October 2021. Council of State (Plenary), Decisions 1580/2021 and 1581/2021, 8 October 2021, para 14. Article 62(6) L 4375/2016, as inserted by Article 101(2) L 4461/2017. Article 62(6) L 4375/2016, Article 95(5) IPA. Article 62(6) L 4375/2016, Article 95(5) IPA. Information provided by the Appeals Authority, 11 March 2022. ECRE, The role of EASO operations in national asylum systems, November 2019, available at: https://bit.ly/2VNULrd, 18 RSA, The Greek asylum procedure in figures in 2022: Analysis of main trends in refugee protection, 28 March 2023, https://rsaegean.org/en/greek-asylum-statistics-2022/ MoMA, Reply of the Ministry to the Greek Parliament, 16 March 2023, https://bit.ly/3JIy0y6. See: AIDA Report on Greece, 2020 Update. 63