negative appeal decision is also undermining the right to judicial protection […], as persons whose claims are rejected will not be able to submit an application for annulment or an application for suspension in practice, which could ultimately lead to a violation of the principle of nonrefoulement. The deprivation of legal stay before a notification of a negative decision has further premature negative repercussions on the enjoyment of the rights of asylum seekers from which they are to be excluded only following the notification of negative decision (e.g. the right to shelter and cash assistance)’. Individuals whose asylum applications are rejected at second instance no longer have the status of “asylum seeker”,406 and thus do not benefit from reception conditions. 1.4.2. Judicial review Applicants for international protection may lodge an application for annulment (αίτηση ακύρωσης) of a second instance decision of the Appeals Committees solely before the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens or Thessaloniki,407 within 30 days from the notification of the decision.408 According to the IPA,409 following the lodging of the application for annulment, an application for suspension/interim order can be filed. The decision on this single application for temporary protection from removal should be issued within 15 days from the lodging of the application. The effectiveness of these legal remedies is severely undermined by a number of practical and legal obstacles: v The application for annulment and application for suspension/interim order can only be filed by a lawyer. In addition, no legal aid is provided in order to challenge a second instance negative decision. The capacity of NGOs to file such applications is very limited due to high legal fees. The fees for filing an application for annulment varies between 257,80 euros to 318,55 euros, while the fees for filing an application for suspension varies between 145,40 euros to 198,35 euros, depending on the employment status of the lawyer. An additional financial burden required for the hearing of the application for suspension is the notification of the application to the Minister of Migration and Asylum, performed by α bailiff and amounting to 43,40 euros. Additionally, when it comes to the hearing of the application for annulment, if the applicant is not present at the hearing, the submission of a proxy is required, which costs approx. 60-65 euros. Legal aid may only be requested under the general provisions of Greek law,410 which are in any event not tailored to asylum seekers and cannot be accessed by them in practice due to several obstacles. For example, the request for legal aid is submitted by an application written in Greek; free legal aid is granted only if the legal remedy for which the legal assistance is requested is not considered “manifestly inadmissible” or “manifestly unfounded”.411 As noted by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention “[i]nadequate legal aid is provided for challenging a second instance negative decision on an asylum application, and the capacity of NGOs to file this application is very limited given the number of persons in need of international protection”.412 v The application for annulment and application for suspension/interim order do not have an automatic suspensive effect.413 Therefore between the submission of an application for suspension/interim order and the in-merit decision of the court, there is no guarantee that the applicant will not be removed from the territory. 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 Article 1(c) Asylum Code. Article 114 Asylum Code with reference to Article 15(4) L. 3068/2002 Article 115 Asylum Code. Article 15(6) L 3068/2002, as amended by Article 115 IPA. Articles 276 and 276A Code of Administrative Procedure. Ibid. UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Addendum: Mission to Greece, A/HRC/45/16/Add.1, 29 July 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/3dL8I0U, para. 85. See, e.g., ECtHR, M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece, Application No 30696/09, Judgment of 21 January 2011. 85