Greece - 11th Appeals Committee, Decision no. 17627/18, 9 September 2019
Keywords:
| Keywords |
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Legal assistance / Legal representation / Legal aid
Description
Legal assistance: "practical help in bringing about desired outcomes within a legal framework. Assistance can take many forms, ranging from the preparation of paperwork, through to the conduct of negotiation and representation in courts and tribunals.” Legal aid: state funded assistance, for those on low incomes, to cover legal fees." |
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Personal interview
Description
"The process of questioning or talking with a person in order to obtain information or determine the personal qualities of the person. An interview is a common step in the adjudication of an application for refugee or other immigration status.” An applicant for asylum must be given the opportunity of a personal interview subject to the provisions of the Asylum Procedures Directive: - A personal interview must normally take place without the presence of family members unless considered necessary for an appropriate examination. - It must be conducted under conditions which allow applicants to present the grounds for their applications in a comprehensive manner and which ensure appropriate confidentiality. - the person who conducts the interview must be sufficiently competent to take account of the personal or general circumstances surrounding the application, including the applicant’s cultural origin or vulnerability, insofar as it is possible to do so - interpreters must be able to ensure appropriate communication between the applicant and the person who conducts the interview but it need not necessarily take place in the language preferred by the applicant if there is another language which he/she may reasonably be supposed to understand and in which he/she is able to communicate. - Member States may provide for rules concerning the presence of third parties at a personal interview. - a written report must be made of every personal interview, containing at least the essential information regarding the application as presented by the applicant - applicants must have timely access to the report of the personal interview and in any case as soon as necessary for allowing an appeal to be prepared and lodged in due time." |
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Unaccompanied minor
Description
“’Unaccompanied minors’ means third-country nationals or stateless persons below the age of 18, who arrive on the territory of the Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for them whether by law or custom, and for as long as they are not effectively taken into the care of such a person; it includes minors who are left unaccompanied after they have entered the territory of the Member States.” |
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Child Specific Considerations
Description
Application of a child-sensitive process and assessment of protection status, taking into account persecution of a child-specific nature and the specific protection needs of children. “When assessing refugee claims of unaccompanied or separated children, States shall take into account the development of, and formative relationship between, international human rights and refugee law, including positions developed by UNHCR in exercising its supervisory functions under the 1951 Refugee Convention. In particular, the refugee definition in that Convention must be interpreted in an age and gender-sensitive manner, taking into account the particular motives for, and forms and manifestations of, persecution experienced by children. Persecution of kin; under-age recruitment; trafficking of children for prostitution; and sexual exploitation or subjection to female genital mutilation, are some of the child-specific forms and manifestations of persecution which may justify the granting of refugee status if such acts are related to one of the 1951 Refugee Convention grounds. States should, therefore, give utmost attention to such child-specific forms and manifestations of persecution as well as gender-based violence in national refugee status-determination procedures.” See also the best interests principle. |
Headnote:
The interview of an unaccompanied minor, conducted without any legal representation, violated domestic and international provisions regarding the right to a hearing and the best interest of the child.
Facts:
The appellant, an unaccompanied minor, filed an asylum application at the Regional Asylum Office of Thessaloniki, following which a personal interview was scheduled in February 2018. At the time of the interview, both the applicant and his lawyer lived in Athens. They filed a request to adjourn the personal interview and to reschedule it at an Asylum Office closer to the applicant's place of residence. The request was declined without providing sufficient reasoning and the minor was asked to attend the interview on the scheduled date, despite the fact he could not be represented by his lawyer on that particular day. His asylum application was rejected.
In March 2018, the applicant's lawyer filed a request to cancel the interview and to reschedule a new one. Moreober, they submitted a report on the case by the Ombudsperson for the Rights of the Child finding a violation of the child's rights as a result of errors during the interview process. In the meantime, the application for international protection was rejected as unfounded. The applicant appealed against that decision.
Decision & reasoning:
The Committee granted the appeal, cancelling the decision of the Regional Asylum Office of Thessaloniki and ordering a reevaluation of the asylum application at first instance.
The outcome was justified by the violations of the provisions of domestic (L.4375/2016) and international law (article 3 CRC) regarding the right to a hearing and the best interests of the child. Moreover, the Committee noted the infringement of the principles of good faith, good administration, legitimate expectations and administrative leniency, which must govern all administrative actions. The need for good administration was even more pressing in light of the applicant's age and the objections raised by him and his lawyer. Finally, the Committee considered the need for a special handling of asylum applications submitted by unaccompanied minors.
Outcome:
Appeal granted; case remiited to the Asylum Service for a new interview.
Observations/comments:
This summary was completed by Danai Spentzou, Human Rights LLM student at Queen Mary University of London.
Relevant International and European Legislation:
Cited National Legislation:
| Cited National Legislation |
| Articles 44(6) |
| 45(8) |
| 61(1) |
| 62(9) Law 4375/2016 |
| Article 28 Law 4540/2018 (Α’91/22.5.2018) |