Council of State: “No” to the participation of judges in the unilateral appeal committees of the Minister of Immigration Policy

According to the plenary session of the Council of State, the work of the unilateral composition of the Appeals Committees of the General Secretariat for Immigration Policy cannot be assigned to judicial officials.

Specifically, the President of the CoE, Michalis Pikramenos, announced after the end of the relevant conference, behind closed doors, of the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court of Cassation, that it is not permissible to assign to a judicial officer the tasks of a unilateral administrative body, even if it exercises disciplinary, control or judicial functions, such as the Appeals Committees of the General Secretariat for Migration Policy, which operate under a unicameral composition.

It should be clarified that the Appeals Authority is the appellate body for the examination of appeals by foreigners seeking international protection against the rejection decisions of the Asylum Service (first instance).

The Plenary Session of the Council of State, after a reference from the 4th Section, dealt with a preliminary question of the Administrative Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki, which dealt with a request for annulment of a foreigner’s application against a decision of the Independent Appeals Committee (one-member composition), which rejected in the second instance his request to be granted international protection.

The State Counsels at the conference ruled that “Article 89 para. 2 of the Constitution does not permit the assignment of functions of a unilateral administrative body to a judicial officer, even if the latter exercises powers of a disciplinary, control or judicial nature”.

Accordingly, the State Counselors emphasize, the provision of Article 5 para. 7 of Law no. 4375/2016 (as replaced by Laws 4636/2019 and 4686/2020), “is contrary to the Constitution, insofar as it provides that the Independent Appeals Committees operate under a one-member composition”.

At the same time, the Plenary decided that for reasons of public interest, the effects of the unconstitutionality must start from the day of the publication of the relevant decision, which is expected after 4 months, i.e., in April 2025.

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