D. Judicial Review of the detention order Indicators: - Is there an automatic review of the lawfulness of detention? Yes No A detention order is issued when someone lodges an asylum claim where the conditions of Article 13 paragraph 2 Presidential Decree 114/10 apply. In practice, asylum seekers are routinely detained until their claim for international protection is examined. Since December 2012, the detention period has been extended from a maximum of 6 months to a maximum of 18 months. The law does not provide for a judicial review of these detention orders. The routine and in most cases arbitrary detention of asylum seekers, coupled with the lack of judicial review of the lawfulness of these detention orders creates a very problematic situation for most people seeking international protection in Greece. E. Legal assistance Indicators: - Does the law provide for access to free legal assistance for the review of detention? Yes No Do asylum seekers have effective access to free legal assistance in practice? Yes No Under the Greek legislation (Presidential Decree 90/2008) free legal aid provided for by the State under the Greek legal aid system covers only the representation at the administrative court. However, in practice detention centres are located in remote areas which is undermining effective access of asylum seekers in detention to a lawyer. Moreover, lawyers can only access detention centres if they have the name of their clients, which is only the case if they have been appointed as their lawyer. However there have been reports about lawyers refused access to a detention facility even if they had the name of the asylum seeker they wanted to visit as the director of the centre claimed that the asylum seeker concerned was not in their custody. Also the CPT has reported that access to 86 lawyers for detainees in Greece is problematic in practice. Legal aid clinics have only been used in Greece in cases of implementation of EU funded programmes on a case by case basis. 86 “The Working Group notes that this situation also affects the proper preparation for the trial, given that a defendant who has a lawyer cannot communicate with him or her in private.” See United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention statement upon the conclusion of its mission to Greece (21 - 31 January 2013), 31 January 2013. 52