“rejected as unfounded” – first instance negative decisions. This practice continued in 2023.567 The voluntary departure order is provided by article 22 paragraph 1 L.3907/2011, as it was amended by article 3 L. 4825/2021.568 Following the amendment of Article 83(3) Asylum Code, the obligation to present oneself before the Appeal Committees remains waived for the appellants who are either under geographical restriction or reside in a Reception/Accommodation facility. In case the appellant cannot be represented by a lawyer or another authorised person/ consultant, a certification shall be submitted before the Appeal Authority. More specifically, for the appellants who reside in a Reception/Accommodation facility, a residence certification shall be issued in writing by the Director of the Reception/Accommodation facility, upon request by the appellant. This request that should not be filed earlier than 3 days before the date of examination of the appeal. This certification confirms that the appellant resided in the facility on the day that the application for the certificate was filed. Appellants, against whom a geographical restriction is imposed must submit a written certification issued by the Police or a Citizens' Service Centre (ΚΕΠ) located at the area of the geographical restriction by the day before the examination of their appeal, confirming that they presented themselves before said authorities. The application for such a certificate must not be filed longer than two days before the date of the appeal’s examination. In case the appellant does not submit the aforementioned certification, it is presumed that they have implicitly revoked their appeal according to Article 86 of Asylum Code. Moreover, in case of force majeure, such as serious illness, serious physical disability or the case of an insurmountable impediment that made the in-person appearance of the appellant impossible, the obligation for the in-person appearance is suspended throughout the duration of the force majeure.569 In these cases, the appellant needs to submit a relevant application, and invoke in a particular manner the incidents that constitute force majeure or unsurmountable impediment that made their appearance inperson impossible; the allegation needs to be proved with written documents and relevant certifications or certificates from a public service. In case the reasons constituting force majeure or insurmountable impediment are proven and under the condition that the appellant appears before the competent authorities, the consequences of the non-appearance are lifted. However, it has been noted that for a considerable period following the above amendment, the information provided to the appellants by the RAOs regarding the issuance and submission of the residence certificates before the Appeals Authority was not accurate. Indeed, the written information provided within the ‘Document – Proof of Submission of the Appeal’570 explicitly stated that appellants are obliged to submit a residence certificate before the Appeals Authority up to the day before the examination of their appeal. No mention was made of the obligation to apply for the certificate no earlier than three days before the date of examination of the appeal. As a result, in several cases, appellants had submitted outdated residence certificates before the Appeals Authority, and, subsequently, in some of these cases, appeals were rejected by the Appeals Committee (with no examination either of the admissibility or the merits of the asylum applications) on the grounds of the submission of an out-of-date residence certificate by the Head of the RIC. GCR has introduced cases such as these before the Greek administrative courts. In May 2023, the Administrative Court of Athens annulled the decision of the 2nd Appeals Committee that had rejected an applicant’s appeal on the grounds of the submission of an out-of-date residence certificate.571 Similarly to the concerns raised under the Regular procedure as regards the severity of these new procedural requirements, serious concerns with regard to the effectiveness of the remedy and the risk of 567 568 569 570 571 Information acquired from the GCR lawyers based in Lesvos and Kos, and during GCR mission to Chios, 3031 January 2024. "1. The decision to return the third-country national may provide for a period of time for his/her voluntary departure, which shall be between seven (7) and twenty-five (25) days, subject to paragraphs. 2 and 4.” Article 83 paragraph 4 Asylum Code. The Document – Proof of Submission of the Appeal is given to the applicant by the RAO personnel immediately after his/her appeal is lodged. Decision No ΑΔ940/31-5-2023 issued by the Administrative Court of Athens. 122