Last Updated on September 22, 2021 by LawEuro
Law 4375 (Country: Greece)
On the organization and operation of the Asylum Service, the Appeals Authority, the Reception and Identification Service, the establishment of the General Secretariat for Reception, the transposition into Greek legislation of the provisions of Directive 2013/32/EC “on common procedures for granting and withdrawing the status of international protection (recast(” (L 180/29.6.2013), provisions on the employment of beneficiaries of international protection and other provisions
Content of the law – 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
CHAPTER B
Reception and identification Service
Article 8
Establishment -Mission- Structure
1. It is hereby established, within the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, an autonomous service entitled “Reception and Identification Service” (RIS) which shall depend from the General Secretariat for Reception, as this is set up in article 26 of this law.
2. The Reception and Identification Service shall operate at a level of a Directorate and its main mission shall be the efficient conduct of the procedures for receiving and identifying third country nationals or stateless persons entering the country without complying with the legal formalities. To this end, the Reception and Identification Service shall be responsible for:
A. The registration, identification and data verification procedures, medical screening, identification of vulnerable persons, the provision of information, especially for international or another form of protection and return procedures, as well as the temporary stay of third-country nationals or stateless persons entering the country without complying with the legal formalities and their further referral to the appropriate reception or temporary accommodation structures.
B. The establishment, operation and supervision of centers and structures for the purposes of those procedures.
C. The establishment, operation and supervision of Open Temporary Reception facilities for third-country nationals or stateless persons who have requested international protection.
D. The establishment, operation and supervision of Open Structures of Temporary Accommodation for third-country nationals or stateless persons who are within a return, removal or readmission procedure in accordance with article 22 of law 3907/2011 (O.G. A’ 7) or with paragraph 3 of this article in conjunction with article 30 of law 3907/2011 or whose removal is postponed in accordance with Article 24 of law 3907/2011 or who fall under the provisions of Article 76 para. 5 or 78 or 78a of Law 3386/2005 (O.G. A’ 212).
3. The Reception and identification Service shall consist of the Central Office and the Regional Services. The Central Office shall be structured in the following departments:
a. Department of Information and International and European Cooperation which shall support the Director and shall be divided into: aa) the Information Office, entrusted with commmunication and public information issues, bb) the Office for International and European Cooperation which shall follow and assess the developments in the field of asylum and other forms of international protection, shall submit proposals for the necessary modifications and improvements and shall be entrusted with representing the country at European and international level on matters pertaining to the competences of the Service. The Department shall have a Secretariat supporting the Director.
b. Department of Coordination: it shall be competent to coordinate the activities of the Regional Reception and identification and shall organize, coordinate and supervise the Mobile Reception and identification Units. It submit proposals for the necessary modifications and improvements shall be in charge of liaising and cooperating with the Asylum Service and with other competent State services and independent authorities as well as with other civil society organizations and legal entities, shall maintain lists of accredited civil society organizations and interpreters.
c. Department of Finances: it shall draw up and implement the budget of the Reception and identification Service. It shall be competent to draft and authorize supplies for the Service and deal with matters pertaining to emoluments, indemnities and other form of payments to the staff, appointment of public accounting officials, the division, reapportioning and control of the movement of the permanent advance and all other relevant matter.
d. Department of Planning, Program Management and Implementation: It shall draft proposals, submit them and implement actions funded by European, institutional or other funds and shall be in charge of the programming, management, evaluation and implementation of these programs.
e. Department of Informatics: It shall support the information system of the Service, shall be responsible for its appropriate connection with data records kept by other public services or other relevant authorities of EU Member States, within the framework of relevant agreements and shall be responsible to collect, process and maintain statistical data provided by the Regional Reception and identification Services.
f. Department of Human Resources and Administrative Support which shall be divided into: aa) the Human Resources Office, entrusted with matters of appointment, secondment, transfer, movement, disposal, skills, evaluation, promotion, leave of absence, disciplinary actions and any other matter related to the Service’s personnel and to issue the relevant administrative acts. It shall also organize training, further training and continuous training of the Service’s personnel and shall ensure quality for the services provided by Regional Reception and identification Services; and bb) Administrative Support Office, entrusted with the secretarial support to the Central Reception and identification Service and with handling its correspondence; it shall also be competent to deal with the smooth operation of the Reception and identification Service premises, manage its supplies and to keep records.
g. Legal Department: it shall be competent to prepare and draft the necessary legislative and more generally regulatory texts and circulars and provide legal support to the Service and the Regional Services on matters pertaining to its operation and exercise of their competences. It shall also be competent to draft advice on questions relating to the Service’s mission when preparing official documents in reply to parliamentary questions and to apply correctly the existing legislation.
h. Department of Technical Support: it shall be competent to deal with, plan and supervise the maintenance, repair, adaptation and extension of the buildings and premises of the Reception and identification Services so as to ensure their smooth operation, to organize the necessary connections between the Regional Services premises and the required services and organisms and to monitor the relevant consuming bills.
4. The Regional Services of the Reception and identification Service shall be:
a. The Reception and Identification Centres (RIC)
b. Mobile Reception and Identification Units (MRIU)
c. The Open Temporary Reception Structures for third-country nationals or stateless persons who have applied for international protection,
d. The Open Temporary Accommodation Structures for third-country nationals or stateless persons:
who are within a return procedure in accordance with article 22 of law 3907/2011, or with paragraph 3 of this article in conjunction with article 30 of law 3907/2011 or whose removal is postponed in accordance with Article 24 of law 3907/2011 or who fall under the provisions of article 76 para. 5 or article 78 or article 78a of law 3386/2005.
5. The Central Service shall plan, direct, monitor and supervise the activities of the Regional Services and shall ensure the necessary conditions for the exercise of their functions in cooperation with other competent services. To this end, the Central Service may develop international cooperation, in particular with the competent foreign authorities, international organizations, bodies and agencies of the European Union or its Member States, and participate alone or together with other public services or civil society organizations in programs and actions funded by the European Union or other bodies.
Article 9
Reception and identification procedures
1. All third-country nationals and stateless persons who enter without complying with the legal formalities in the country shall be submitted to reception and identification procedures. Reception and identification procedures include: a) the registration of their personal data and the taking and registering of fingerprints for those who have reached the age of 14, b) the verification of their identity and nationality, c) their medical screening and provision any necessary care and psycho-social support, d) informing them about their rights and obligations, in particular the procedure for international protection or the procedure for entering a voluntary return program, e) attention for those belonging to vulnerable groups, in order to put them under the appropriate, in each case, procedure and to provide them with specialized care and protection, f) referring those who wish to submit an application for international protection to start the procedure for such an application, g) referring those who do not submit an application for international protection or whose application is rejected while they remain in the RIC to the competent authorities for readmission, removal or return procedures.
2. Third-country nationals or stateless persons residing in Greece without complying with the legal formalities, and whose nationality or identity cannot be certified by a public authority document shall also be submitted to reception and identification procedures.
Article 10
Structures
1. A joint decision by the Minister for Finance and the Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall establish Reception and identification Centers in border areas of Greece, where this is deemed necessary, taking into account the number of persons entering without complying with the legal formalities. Within these Reception and identification Centers, it is possible to have in operation a Regional Asylum Office, or an Autonomous Asylum Unit or a Mobile Asylum Unit of the Asylum Service.
2. Reception and identification Centers shall also be established by joint decision of the Minister for Finance and the Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction in inland areas, for the purposes of the reception and identification procedures.
3. The Director of the Service may, by decision, set up Mobile Reception and identification Units in parts of the territory where the provision of reception and identification services is deemed necessary, in particular in the case where a large number of persons enter without complying with legal formalities, and their referral to a Reception and identification Center is not immediately feasible or appropriate.
4. A joint decision by the Minister for Finance and the Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall set up Open Temporary Reception Structures for the reception of applicants for international protection.
5. A joint decision by the Minister for Finance and the Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, shall set up Open Temporary Accommodation Structures for third-country nationals or stateless persons who enter, or reside in, the country without complying with the legal formalities, who are: a) within a return procedure in accordance with article 22 of law 3907/2011 or with paragraph 3 of this article in conjunction with article 30 of law 3907/2011; or b) whose removal is postponed in accordance with Article 24 of law 3907/2011; or c) who fall under the provisions of article 76 paragraph 5 or article 78 or article 78a of law 3386/2005.
6. Within Reception and Identification Centers, Open Temporary Reception Structures and Open Temporary Accommodation Structures separate areas shall be set up for third-country nationals or stateless persons belonging to vulnerable groups of article 14 paragraph 8.
Article 11
Staffing
1. It is hereby established, within the Reception and Identification Service, the post of the Director. The Director shall be appointed by decision of the Minister for the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, following a public call of interest, for a three-year term, which may be renewed once. The Director shall be a person of recognized standing, with a university degree, with competence in management and specialization and/or experience in the and/or in the field of international protection, human rights or international law. The Director shall be in charge of the Reception and Identification Service, that is the Central Service and the Regional Services and shall be controlled by he Minister for the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction who may dismiss him/her before the end of his/her mandate either because s/he resigns or in case s/he is unable to perform his/her tasks or for any other serious reason related to the exercise of his/her duties. The Director shall be a Greek citizen. The exercise of any other public office by the Director during his/her term of office shall be suspended; s/he shall not carry out any other professional activity, shall not take up other remunerated tasks in the public or the private sector, nor any other non-remunerated task in a field related to his/her duties. The remuneration of the Director shall be determined by joint decision of the Minister for Finances and the Minister for the Interior and Administrative Restructuring.
2. Each Reception and Identification Center shall be headed by a Manager. The Manager shall have a university degree with capacity and experience in management and/or specialization in the field of human rights. S/he shall be appointed by decision of the General Secretary for Reception, following a recommendation of the Director of the Service for a term of one year, renewable for a further two years and may be further prolonged or renewed depending on the service needs, following an open call of interest by the Minister for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction. The Manager shall be in charge of the Reception and Identification Center and shall be controlled by the Director of the Service. The General Secretary for Reception may dismiss the Manager before the end of his/her mandate at his/her own request, or in case s/he is unable to perform his/her tasks or for any other serious reason related to the exercise of his/her duties. The remuneration of the Manager shall be set by joint decision by the Minister for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction and the Minister for Finances. In case the Manager is a civil servant, s/he shall receive a responsibility allowance at the level of Head of Directorate and his/her term of office shall be considered as a period of exercise of Head of Directorate tasks.
3. The function of the Heads of the identification and nationality verification unit and of the unit of external guard and security, as per article 13, paragraph 1, points (b) and (e) below, shall belong to an official of the Hellenic Police of a level of at least Police Captain grade A’ who shall cooperate with the Manager for the performance of the duties related to the above units and shall have the responsibility to work together with officials of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the EU made available to support the functions of the Reception and Identification Center.
4. Each Mobile Reception and Identification Unit shall have a Head of Unit, following a relevant decision by the Director of the Service. The Head of the Unit shall receive the allowance for heads of unit, paid for as long as s/he shall perform these functions and his/her term of office shall be considered as a period of exercise of Head of unit tasks. Police staff, made available by the Hellenic Police, and having as their Chief Officer a police officer of a level of at least Police Lieutenant grade A’ shall participate in a Each Mobile Reception and Identification Unit; their tasks shall be similar to those of the identification and nationality verification and of external guard and security units of the RICs.
5. The Open Temporary Reception Structures for applicants for international protection and the Open Temporary Accommodation Structures shall operate at the level of a unit. They shall be headed by a civil servant or private person who shall hold a university degree with capacity and experience in management and/or specialization in the field of human rights; s/he shall be appointed by decision of the Director of the Reception and Identification Service or shall be hired with the State with a fixed-duration work contract for one year, following an open call of interest by the Director. In the case of Open Temporary Reception Structures for applicants for international protection, the appointment of their Head shall take place following a recommendation by the Director of the Reception Directorate of the General Secretariat for Reception.
6. The Reception and Identification Service shall be staffed by public civil servants who are transferred, moved or seconded from other services of the State, or of the public sector (Article 2 of Law 3861/2010 – O. G. A’ 112) or of state legal entities or of the local government or are recruited as permanent staff or under an employment contract of indeterminate duration, in accordance with the provisions in force. For the purposes of filling of the posts the Administrative Director of the Service shall carry out a public call of interest. The transfers, movements and postings shall be made in derogation of existing provisions in order to meet the staffing needs of the Reception and Identification Service. Priority shall be given to the transfer to the Reception and Identification Service of staff from services of the state, the wider public sector (Article 2 of Law 3861/2010), public entities, or local government authorities, which are to be abolished or merged. The transfers shall be made to vacant posts or, if there is no vacancy, the post of the employee transferred shall also be transferred by a joint decision of competent Ministers, upon proposal of the Director of the Service. The transfer shall be made following a public call of interest from the Director of the Service which shall identify the general and specific qualifications, the criteria and the selection process for those to be transferred; it shall not be required to apply the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 68 of Law 4002/2011 (O.G. A’. 180). The Service shall inform, failing which the relevant act shall be null and void, thereof the Commission set by the Act of the Government number 33/2006 (A’ 280) as amended, as well as the relevant departments of the Ministry for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction on the number and grades of the posts to be covered by the transfers. The transfer shall be made at the grade and salary step held by the person to be transferred who shall also retain the pension insurance scheme kept prior to transfer. Seconding of staff shall be carried out by a joint decision of the competent ministers, notwithstanding any other general or special provision, on a proposal from the Director of the Reception and Identification Service, who shall assess the formal and substantial qualifications of the candidates; the same process shall take place when prolonging seconding such staff. The transfer shall be carried out by a joint decision of the competent ministers, according to paragraph 1 of article 68 of law 4002/2011 (O.G. A’ 180), notwithstanding any other general or special provision. Seconded employees shall receive the regular salary of their post. Such salary shall be borne by the budget of the Ministry, Office or Agency where the seconded employee belongs. If the seconded employee is entitled to a position allowance, because s/he has taken up the position of a head of unit or department, it shall be paid by the Reception and Identification Service. The Reception and Identification Service may hire staff under fixed-term private law contracts under the conditions and the procedure laid down in law 2190/94 (O.G. A’ 28), as amended and supplemented by law 2527/1997 (O.G. A’ 206) and presidential decree 164/2004 (O.G. A’ 134).
7. The following posts shall be established for the staff of the Reception and Identification Service by category and grade:
a. 70 posts in category Administration and Finances, for the grade of university graduates
b. 4 posts in category IT for the grade of university graduates
c. 2 posts in category Communications and Media for the grade of university graduates
d. 70 posts in category Administration and Accounting for the grade of technical university graduates
e. 10 posts in category IT for the grade of technical university graduates
f. 160 posts in category Administration and Accounting, for the grades of secondary school graduates
g. 60 posts in category Medical Doctors for the grade of university graduates
h. 85 posts in category Nurses for the grade of technical university graduates
i. 20 posts in category Sociologists for the grade of university graduates
j. 60 posts in category Social Workers for the grade of university graduates
k. 85 posts in category Social Workers for the grade of technical university graduates
l. 60 posts in category Psychology for the grade of university graduates
m. 5 posts in category Law for the grade of university graduates
n. 2 posts in category IP for European and International Studies for the grade of university graduates
o. 15 posts for special scientific personnel
p. 3 posts in category Mechanical Engineering for the grade of university graduates
q. 3 posts in category Architects for the grade of university graduates
r 3 posts in category Civil Engineering for the grade of university graduates
s. 3 posts in category Electrical Engineering for the grade of university graduates
n. 2 posts in category Surveying Engineering for the grade of university graduates
u. 2 posts in category Structural Work for the grade of technical university graduates
wt. 2 posts in category Electrical Engineering for the grade of technical university graduates
w. 2 posts in category Mechanical Engineering for the grade of technical university graduates
x. 25 posts in category Various Technical Specialties for the grade of secondary education graduates
The Director of the Reception and Identification Service shall, with a decision, place the staff within the Central Reception and Identification Service as well as the Regional Services taking into account the call or invitation, the provisions in force as well as the needs of the Service.
8. In order to cover its needs, the Reception and Identification Service may undertake independent services contracts or fixed-duration work contracts, according to the provisions in force, with interpreters who have the necessary qualifications and are selected from a list drawn up by the Central Service and kept in accordance with its Internal Regulation. The interpreters shall be paid in accordance with the conditions set in the relevant contract for the provision of independent services or fixed-duration work contract, according to the provisions in force. Their remuneration, the procedure and the documents necessary for payment in the execution of those contracts shall be defined by a joint decision by the Minister for the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction and the Minister of Finance.
9. To ensure the effective operation of a Reception and Identification Center, of a Temporary Reception Structure or of a Temporary Accommodation Structure the processing of some of these Structures’ tasks, with the exception of those involving the exercise of public authority, such as the issuance of administrative act or the processing of specific competences of this service, may be entrusted for a set period of time to civil society actors that meet appropriate standards of quality and safety, or to public bodies such as supervised private law public entities. The above assignment shall be made through the conclusion of programming agreement between the Reception and Identification Service and the organisms concerned. The procedure, criteria, specific terms, content and all other related details for selecting the implementing body shall be determined in the relevant call for expression of interest which shall be issued by the Director of the Reception and Identification Service. The implementing body shall be selected by a committee designated by the Director of the Reception and Identification Service. The contract shall specify at least: a) the object of the contract, the plan for the study or service and the pre-estimated total cost, b) the duties of the contractor, c) the modalities to be followed in order to fulfill the necessary expenditure of the contractor and details of their payment, d) the penalties and other consequences against the contractor in the case of culpable defective fulfillment of the contract, e) the terms for fulfilling the duties of the contractor and the end of the contract, f) the modalities and conditions for the financing of the contract awarded by the contracting authority g) the conditions governing the performance of the technical, financial and audit of the by the contracting authority during the implementation stage and h) the acts and actions of the contractor which require the prior approval of the project owner. A joint decision of the Ministers for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, for Labor, Social Security and Welfare and of Finance shall determine the specific terms and quality and safety requirements civil society organizations must meet in order to qualify for the provisions of this article. The cost of the contract may be covered by national or co-financed funds, by own resources of these bodies or by other resources, in application and the provision of article 28, paragraph 8 of law 4033/2011, as in force. The Reception Directorate of the General Secretariat for Reception shall establish and keep a Registry of accredited organizations for that purpose.
10. The staff of the Reception and Identification Service shall receive training on the object of their mission, by the Central Service, in collaboration with the competent ministries and/or international institutions and organizations. The medical personnel, who provide services to the structures of the Reception and Identification Service, shall be trained by the Service, in order to assess victims of torture, in cooperation with international organizations and agencies, such as the UN Committee against Torture, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the European Asylum Support Office.
11. The responsibility for issues pertaining to the personnel of the Reception and Identification Service shall belong to the administrative staff committees of the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction. When these committees examine issues related to the personnel of the above services, representatives elected by the personnel of the Reception and Identification Service shall attend as staff elected members in these committees. The process and generally all matters relating to the election of these representatives shall be governed by the provisions of articles 159-162 of Law 3528/2007 (O.G. A’ 26), as amended and in force
12. If a person appointed as a Manager in a Reception and Identification Center, or as a Head in a Temporary Reception Structure or a Temporary Accommodation Structure is an attorney-at-law, s/he must obligatorily suspend the exercise of his/her legal profession throughout his/her mandate in the above post.
13. The posts of specialized scientific personnel of the Reception and Identification Service can be covered by transfers, movements or secondments from State civil servants or staff from public entities or local government. In case filling them with such staff is not possible, they may be covered with personnel recruited at the university level grade with a degree in law, political, social, technological studies or humanities from other services of the State, public entities or local authorities or other entities of the wider public sector. Such transfers of permanent civil servants in posts of specialized scientific personnel of the Reception and Identification Service shall take place with ad personam creation of such posts with the same act as that of the transfer (which shall commit a corresponding number of vacant posts of specialized scientific personnel hired under private law and indefinite-duration employment contracts, which shall not be covered as long as the aforementioned officials remain in those individual posts.
14. The regional services of the Reception and Identification Service shall operate around the clock, every day of the week including Sundays and holidays, and staff shall work with a shift rotation system, as specified in the internal Regulation of the Reception and Identification Service. The presidential decree provided for in article 18, paragraph 1, shall determine the specific duties and obligations for the staff of the Reception and Identification Service, the employment status, conditions and working hours, the regulation of overtime and specific issues concerning the provision of this service.
15. As concerns the travel and work of the personnel of the Reception and Identification Service within or away of their location, the provisions of sub-paragraph D9 of article 2 of law 4336/2015 (O.G. A’ 94) shall apply. Exceeding the number of days of work away of the location of the employment shall be allowed, in accordance with article 3, paragraph 2, subparagraph D9 of law.4336/2015, up to a total of 180 days per year.
16. In cases of emergency, following a relevant decision by the Director of the Service, a Regional Reception and Identification Service may temporarily be reinforced with staff serving in the Central Office or in another Regional Reception and Identification Service.
17. Employees of Regional Services of the Reception and Identification Service shall be paid the allowance set in article 15, paragraph 1 of law 4024/2011 (O.G. A’ 226), as it continues to be paid in accordance with article 18 of law 4354/2015 (O.G. A’ 176. The amount of this allowance shall be fixed at one hundred fifty (150) euros per month.
18. The Reception and Identification Service shall be designated as the competent authority to issue an order authorizing access to nationally classified material for its staff and members of the Committees; it shall also be designated as the responsible directorate for security matters, in application of the National Security Regulation (NRA) as far as the Reception and Identification Service is concerned. The Reception and Identification Service shall include a resident lieutenancy, as per the provisions of the National Security Regulation, whose person in charge shall be the Head of the Coordination Department of the Reception and Identification Service.
19. Staff at the Reception and Identification Service may wear special clothing suitable for protection against the weather. By decision of the Director of the Service shall define the terms, conditions, specifications, categories of staff will wear this clothing and any other relevant matter.
Article 12
Budget — Financial management
1. The Reception and Identification Service shall have its own budget as a separate entity in the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction; its budget shall include the necessary appropriations for the operation of the Service, as well as any other expenditure in line with the fulfillment of its purposes. In particular, appropriations shall relate to: a) salaries for seconded staff who are not paid from the service where they have been seconded from, overtime pay, interpreting service fees, travel costs and other related allowances, b) lease payments for buildings or premises housing the RIS’ services which are not property of the State, c) purchase, lease, repair and maintenance of all kinds of technical equipment, d) entrusting civil society actors with the implementation of Regional Services projects, e) operating costs, such as board of persons residing in its structures and cleaning costs, training costs for the staff and costs for studies or research on areas pertaining to the competences of the Service.
2. The budget of the Reception and Identification Service may also include appropriations for any other expenditure, beyond those listed in paragraph 1, necessary for the operation of its services, by a joint decision of the Ministers of Finances and Interior and Administrative Reconstruction.
3. The Public Investments’ Program of the State’s budget shall provide appropriations for the payment of projects implemented, in fulfillment of the objectives of the Reception and Identification Service, funded either from EU or national resources which shall refer, but not not limited to: a) administrative costs, b) the purchase or expropriation of land or buildings, c) supply and hire of vehicles, d) construction works, e) maintenance works, f) machine and other capital equipment, g) studies and research, h) financial assistance and subsidies; i) other costs.
4. The Central Reception and Identification Service shall receive a permanent advance of upfront funds to deal with its regular expenses, according to the provisions of article 108 of law. 4270/2014 (OG A’ 143).
5. The financial management of the Reception and Identification Service shall be exercised by its competent services and the costs incurred shall be controlled, cleared and ordered in accordance with the regulations for public accounting; they may be financed by funding programs from the European Union or other European or international bodies, including civil society organizations or from any other resources.
6. To meet its operational needs, the Reception and Identification Service may conclude contracts of service provision or of employment, the cost of which may be covered by national or any other kind of resources in accordance with the provisions for Public Accounting.
7. The operating costs of the Reception and Identification Centers may be covered from the approved regular budget in heading 07-450 “First Reception Service”, in addition to the budget from the Public Investments Program. The term operating costs of the Reception and Identification Centers shall also cover any costs relating to the accommodation of third country nationals staying in their premises.
8. Supplies for approved budget programs relating to the management of migration and refugee flows and forming part of emergency actions (Emergency Measures of the European Funds) or which are qualified as emergency, by a decision of the Minister for the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, may exceptionally and by derogation to any general or special provision, be tendered on the basis of the maximum limits for specific actions and the amount of their budget, without requiring to be integrated together with other similar supplies for the regular budget or other funded actions.
Article 13
Administration and structure of regional services
1. Reception and Identification Centers and Mobile Reception and Identification Units shall be structured in functionally distinct units, as follows: a) logistics unit, competent for the administrative support of the Center or Unit, for the housing and feed of persons residing within their premises and for the cleaning of these areas, b) identification and nationality verification unit, competent for recording the personal data of third country nationals and the taking and recording of fingerprints of those who have completed 14 years of age as well as the verification of their identity and nationality, c) medical screening and psychosocial support unit, d) information unit, competent for providing information to third country nationals and stateless persons on their rights and obligations, e) external guard and security unit. The General Operating Regulation of the Reception and Identification Centers shall provide for cases when the staff of the external guard and security unit may enter the center on public order grounds.
2. The Manager of the Reception and Identification Centre shall supervise the logistics unit, the medical screening and psychosocial support unit and the information unit; s/he shall coordinate, provide guidance and monitor the work of the staff employed in the Center and shall ensure the proper functioning of the Centre in cooperation with the other competent authorities and bodies. As part of his duties, the Manager of the Reception and Identification Centre shall cooperate with the Head of the identification and nationality verification unit and the external guard and security unit, who shall be responsible for the police functions. S/he shall provide guidelines to staff available from the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the European Union (EU), which shall operate within the Centre.
3. For the operation of the medical screening and psychosocial support unit, the Reception and Identification Centers and Units may have ambulances; their license shall be provided by the competent services of the Ministry of Health.
4. The Open Temporary Reception Structures and the Open Temporary Accommodation Structures shall be structured in functionally distinct units, as follows: a) logistics unit, competent for the administrative support of the Structure, for the accommodation and board of persons residing within them and for cleaning these areas, b) medical screening and psychosocial support unit, c) information unit, competent for providing information to third country nationals and stateless persons on their rights and obligations, d) external guard and security unit. The General Operating Regulation of the Temporary Accommodation Structures shall provide for cases when the staff of the external guard and security unit may enter the Structure on public order grounds.
5. The competences of the Regional Service units shall described in detail in regulatory acts to be issued by delegation of this law.
Article 14
Status of residence and procedures in the Reception and Identification Centres and in Mobile Units
1. Third-country nationals or stateless persons entering without complying with the legal formalities in the country shall be directly led, under the responsibility of the police or port authorities dealing in accordance with the relevant provisions, to a Reception and identification Centre. The transfer may also be made under the responsibility of the Reception and identification Service, in case the police or port authorities are unable to provide for it, or in order to carry our, speedily and properly, the transfer of persons belonging to vulnerable groups, as per paragraph 8.
2. Third-country nationals or stateless persons entering the Reception and identification Centre, are subject to the procedures set out in Article 9; they shall be placed under a status of restriction of liberty by decision of the Manager of the Centre, to be issued within three (3) days of their arrival. If, upon expiry of the three days, the above procedures have not been completed, the Manager of the Centre may, without prejudice to article 46 below which shall apply accordingly, decide to extend the restriction of the freedom of the abovementioned persons until the completion of these procedures and for a period not exceeding twenty-five (25) days from their entry into the Center. Alternatively, the Manager of the Reception and identification Centre at the border, may, due to urgent needs caused by an increase in arrivals or in order to adequately complete these procedures, in particularly in the case of persons belonging to vulnerable groups, may, be a decision, refer the third-country national or stateless person to a Reception and identification Centre located inland or to other appropriate structures in order to continue and complete the reception and identification procedure. The said decision shall also provide for the details of the transfer of these third-country nationals or stateless persons between various regional services of the Reception and identification Service. In the context of such procedures, special care shall be given to the provisions of paragraph 8, concerning persons belonging to vulnerable groups, in particular unaccompanied minors.
3. Restriction of liberty shall entail the prohibition to leave the Center and the obligation to remain in it, in accordance with the provisions and conditions laid down in its Rules of Procedure; residents shall be informed of the content thereof in a language they understand. By way of exception, such as for reasons of health of a resident in the Center or of a relative of his/her, the Manager may grant a temporary permission to leave these facilities.
4. The decision to extend the restriction of liberty in order to complete the reception and identification procedures shall contain the reasoning, in fact and in law, and shall be in writing. The third country national or stateless person who is under restriction of liberty may, in addition to the rights provided in accordance with the Code of Administrative Procedure, raise objections against the decision to extend his/her restriction of liberty before the President, or a judge designated by the President, of the Administrative Court of First Instance having territorial competence over the Reception and Identification Center. Moreover, as far as the objection procedure is concerned, the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 76 of Law 3386/2005 (GG I 212), as in force, shall apply accordingly. The decision on the objections may be revoked at the request of the claimant the objections if the request to revoke is based on new information, pursuant to Article 205, paragraph 5 of the Code of Administrative Procedure. The third country national or stateless person shall be informed of his rights in accordance with that paragraph. If it is found that the restriction of liberty is unlawful, the judge shall, with the same decision, order the appropriate alternative measures to that of the restriction of liberty.
5. In any event, throughout the reception and identification procedures, the Manager and the staff of the Center shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down on each case, ensure that that the third-country nationals or stateless persons: a) live under decent living conditions, b) maintain their family unity, c) have access to emergency health care and essential treatment of illness or psychosocial support, d) receive, if they belong to vulnerable groups, the appropriate treatment for each case, e) are adequately informed of their rights and obligations; f) have access to guidance and legal advice and assistance on their situation, g) keep contact with civil society groups and organizations active in the area of migration and human rights and providing legal or social assistance, and h) have the right to contact their family and close persons.
6. European Union agencies, such as the European Asylum Support Office and the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union may provide assistance in the reception and identification procedures, in the context of their competences and in accordance with the General Operating Regulation. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration may monitor the above procedures, provide information to persons falling under reception and identification procedures and provide any other form of assistance, in accordance with the mandate and the competences or each agency. The modalities of cooperation of the preceding subparagraphs shall be governed by Memoranda of Understanding to be concluded between the Reception and identification Service and the aforementioned bodies.
7. The information unit or the Reception and identification Center shall inform third country nationals or stateless persons of their rights and obligations as well as of the procedures to receive international protection status and the procedures for voluntary repatriation. Applicants for international protection shall be referred to the competent Regional Asylum Office, a unit of which may operate inside the Centre. At any stage of the proceedings, the request for international protection shall entail the separation of the applicant from the remaining persons in the Center, if this is feasible, and his/her referral to the appropriate procedures and/or reception facilities. Receipt of applications and interviews of applicants may be carried out within the premises of the Centre, in a place that ensures confidentiality. Applicants for international protection may remain in the premises for the duration of the application examination procedure, up to a period of twenty-five days from their arrival at the centre. If, after the expiry of that period, the examination of the application is not completed, the competent Regional Asylum Office shall issue the applicant the relevant card for applicants for international protection in application of the provisions in part three of this law. Subsequently, the applicant shall be referred by the Reception and identification Center to the appropriate reception structures. If the application and any appeal lodged are rejected while the applicant remains in the Reception and Identification Center, s/he shall be referred to the competent authority in view of his/her return, readmission or removal procedures.
8. The Manager of the Center or the Unit, acting on a proposal of the Head of the medical screening and psychosocial support unit shall refer persons belonging to vulnerable groups to the competent social support and protection institution. A copy of the medical screening and psychosocial support file shall be sent to the Head of the Open Temporary Reception or Accommodation Structure or competent social support and protection institution, as per case, where the person is being referred to. In all cases the continuity of the medical treatment followed shall be ensured, where necessary. As vulnerable groups shall be considered for the purposes of this law: a) Unaccompanied minors, b) Persons who have a disability or suffering from an incurable or serious illness, c) The elderly, d) Women in pregnancy or having recently given birth, e) Single parents with minor children, f) Victims of torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence or exploitation, persons with a post-traumatic disorder, in particularly survivors and relatives of victims of ship-wrecks, g) Victims of trafficking in human beings.
Persons belonging to vulnerable groups can remain in Reception and identification Centers in special areas until completion of the procedures laid down in article 9, without prejudice to the deadlines set out in paragraph 2 above. Reception and Identification Services shall take special care to cater for the particular needs and the referral of families with children under the age of 14, especially infants and babies.
9. Whenever, at any stage of the procedure, doubts arise as to whether a third country national or stateless person is a minor or not, the Manager of the Center shall, by decision, refer him/her to the age assessment procedures as per the provisions in force. In any case and until the age assessment ruling is issued, the person shall be considered to be a minor and shall receive the relevant treatment.
10. Upon the completion of the reception and identification procedures, third-country nationals or stateless persons who do not fall under the provisions of international protection or other forms of protection and who possess no legal residence title in Greece, shall be referred, by decision of the Manager of the Center, to the competent police authority for the return, readmission or expulsion procedures, in accordance with the relevant provisions.
11. The provisions of this article shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to Reception and Identification Mobile Units.
Article 15
Management and status of residence in the Open Temporary Reception and Temporary Accommodation Structures
1. The Head of the Open Temporary Reception or Temporary Accommodation Structure shall coordinate, provide guidance and monitor the work of the staff working in it and ensure its proper functioning in cooperation with other authorities and bodies, in accordance with the specific provisions in its Internal Regulation.
2. Persons residing in these structures shall be able to enter and leave them freely, on condition that they comply with their obligations, as reflected in their Internal Regulation, subject to possible restrictive measures in accordance with Article 22 paragraph 3 of law 3907 / 2011.
Article 16
Security — Premises
1. The Hellenic Police shall be responsible for guarding the premises of the Regional services of the Reception and Identification Service. Guarding the open temporary reception and temporary accommodation structures may be entrusted to appropriately trained personnel of private companies providing security services. A decision of the Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall specify the kind, the content and the duration of the training received by the personnel of such companies and the Hellenic Police services that shall provide it.
2. If there are no suitable facilities for carrying out the procedures foreseen or if those existing are not sufficient, it is authorized to use, by derogation of existing provisions, other public premises, after their appropriate rearrangement as well as leasing properties with the appropriate infrastructure or, in very urgent cases, leasing tourist facilities. The use of such premises shall be determined by decision of the Director of the Reception and Identification Service.
3. Exceptionally for the housing needs of the Reception and Identification Centers, of the Open Temporary Reception Structures and of Open Temporary Accommodation Structures, it shall be authorized to change the use of existing buildings outside City Planning areas, by derogation of the allowed land use. In the case of leased private properties, the derogation would apply for the duration of the new use. For the same, as above, housing needs it shall be permitted, in exceptional cases of extreme and compelling urgency or national interest, to erect or construct prefabricated installations public plots outside City Planning areas or inside the above leased private properties, if there is enough space, by derogation from the current provisions. The minimum surface area for the establishment of the above facilities shall be 4.000 square meters. The overall coverage rate of the plot shall not exceed thirty per cent (30 %) while the build-up density rate may not be higher than 0,5. In any case the total surface that can be used for construction shall not exceed 15.000 square meters. In this case, too, the derogation shall apply for the duration of the new use; the installations shall be of a temporary nature, they shall be removed, and cannot be used for any other purpose. The change of use and the constructions shall not be subject to a construction authorization; an approval for small-scale works shall suffice. A joint ministerial decision of the Ministers of Finance, Environment and Energy and of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall establish for each specific case of construction of new facilities, the building conditions and restrictions and any specific conditions for these installations, as well as all other necessary details for the implementation of this paragraph. This decision shall act in lieu of an approval for small-scale works. It shall also act in lieu of an approval of environmental conditions for the operation of these installations, where these are served by an existing networks infrastructure. The same decision shall approve the environmental conditions where these installations are not served by existing networks infrastructure.
4. For the purposes of housing the services of the Reception and Identification Service, it shall be allowed to use camps granted for use by the Ministry of National Defense or bodies supervised by the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Restructuring either for rent in the context of co-financed programs or free of charge and by derogation to any urban planning provisions at all levels. In case any repairs, improvements and additional installations to these premises are necessary, the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall apply mutatis mutandis the provisions governing the implementation of works and military installations inside camps. A joint decision of the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Defense, the Minister for Energy and environment and the Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall lay down the conditions and details for the application of the above provisions. Buildings that are property of the State may also be offered free of charge by the State Properties Company, in accordance with the provisions in force, in order to address the housing needs of the Reception and Identification Service.
5. In order to construct, establish and operated the structures mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, it shall be authorized to change the use of existing buildings inside and outside City Planning areas, and to undertake the necessary internal re-adaptations by issuing an approval for small-scale works. In such cases, the provisions of article 28, paragraph 8 of law 4033/2011 (O.G. A’ 254), as in force, shall apply accordingly.
Article 17
Delegation of powers
1. A presidential decree, issued upon proposal of the Ministers for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction and Finance may, even by modifying the provisions of this law, regulate matters concerning the organization, operation, the personnel duties, specific functions and increase or decrease the number posts for staff in the Central Service and the Regional Services of the Reception and Identification Service.
2. A joint decision of the the Ministers for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction and of Helath, shall establish the General Operating Regulation of the Reception and Identification Centres and Units, determining specific matters of internal structure and operation of the Centres and Units and regulating details of the procedures to be followed in each case and other related issues. A similar decision shall establish the General Operating Rules of Temporary Reception and Temporary Accommodation Structures.
3. The Regional Services of the Reception and Identification Service shall be governed by their Internal Regulation. In particular, the Internal Regulation of the Reception and Identification centres and of the Temporary Accommodation Structures shall be issued by the Director of the Service after consulting the Managers of the Centres or the Heads of the Structures. The Internal Regulation of the Temporary Accommodation Structures shall be issued by the Director of the Service, following an opinion by the competent Directorate of Reception of the General Secretariat for Reception of the Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction.
4.Α decision of the Minister for the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall allocate the staff posts established among the various Regional Services of the Reception and Identification Service.
5. A joint decision of the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall specifically regulate the management of equipment, money issues, and any other related matter, if necessary.
6. A joint decision of the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall also allow entering in the budget of the Reception and Identification Service appropriations for any other expenditure, beyond those listed in article 12, necessary for the operation of its services.
7. The program for medical screening, psychosocial diagnosis, age assessment and referral to support and accommodation structures shall be established by decision of the Minister for Health.
8. Staff of the Hellenic Police who have been seconded, by order in accordance with the provisions of article 19 of Presidential Decree 100/2003 (O.G. A’ 94) to the border of the country or to guard Reception and Identification Centers, Temporary Reception Structures and Temporary Accommodation Structures or facilities where third-country nationals or stateless persons are detained shall receive travel costs and per diem throughout the duration of the secondment and for a period of up to six months per calendar year.
9. In the case that the existing installations of the Regional Services of the Reception and Identification Service are not sufficient, the Minister for the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction may allow by a decision, by way of derogation from the existing planning regulations, to use any appropriate installation for this purpose or to build temporary premises. The same decision shall also regulate any specific matter concerning in particular the duration of the use of these facilities, their purpose, the internal regulation of the installation, as well as the possibility of entrusting to, or cooperating with, other bodies, whether public or private, in which case the competent minister shall also be involved, in the setting up, management, staffing or support of these installations and their supervision and monitoring.
10. The Director of the Reception and Identification Service may, upon recommendation of the Head of the competent Regional Office, decide that, when the existing Regional Services are not sufficient, applicants for international protection or persons in return, expulsion or readmission procedures, particularly those belonging to vulnerable groups, can be referred to structures which are operated by other public agencies or civil society organizations.
11. A presidential decree issued on a proposal of the Ministers of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights and the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall regulate the process of appointing a guardian or representative of unaccompanied minors, as that term is defined in the applicable provisions, the duties, competences, responsibilities and monitoring of guardians, the conditions and the accreditation process and any other relevant matter. A decision of the aforementioned Ministers shall regulate further details for the implementation of the presidential decree of the previous section.
CHAPTER C
Article 18
Modification of Law 4018/2011 (O.G. A’ 215)
1. The sixth indent of paragraph 4 of article 2 of Law 4018/2011 (O.G. A’ 215) shall be amended and replaced by the following:
“75% of the revenue entered in the budget line for expenditure of case © of this paragraph, shall be entered in the budget of the central service of the Ministry for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction and shall be allocated, by decision of the Minister for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, to other ministries, decentralized government, public legal entities and local authorities of first and second level which deal with matters related to migration policy, reception and social integration of migrants and beneficiaries of international protection”.
2. The penultimate and last indent of paragraph 4 of article 2 of law 4018/2011 (O. G. A’ 215), where article 14, paragraph 9 of of law 4332/2015 had been added, shall be amended as follows:
“With similar decisions, it shall be allowed to allocate funds from the same percentage to ministries, decentralized government, public legal entities and local authorities of first and second level to deal with the emergencies arising from the entry and reception of third country nationals. These appropriations may be made available to address any related expenditure to address these needs”.
Article 19
Modification of law 4332/2015 (O. G. A’76) and other provisions
Paragraph 10 of article 14 of law 4332/2015 (O. G. A’76) shall be replaced as follows:
“The public legal entities, local authorities of first and second level, within the administrative boundaries of which operate First Reception Centers (FRCs), Reception and Identification Centers (RICs) and Open Temporary Reception and Accommodation Structures for refugees or migrants, or have areas which are used to cover the emergency housing needs of refugees and migrants, as well as other legal bodies of these local authorities, may in order to deal these emergency and urgent needs, and by derogation of any provision to the contrary, take all necessary steps and conclude with third parties contracts of work, of provision of services, of purchasing supplies or goods or of leasing movable and immovable property for the reception and accommodation of newly-arrived third-country nationals exclusively in order to cover their temporary housing needs, the operation of these facilities, the transportation from the points of arrival or stay to or from the places of temporary or permanent accommodation facilities, which are located inside and outside their boundaries, to provide food, immediate medical care, burial costs, the managing of humanitarian aid and any other offer in cash or kind, management, transport, storage and distribution thereof, and any other absolutely necessary expense for the purposes of the above objectives.
In order to store and distribute the above-mentioned essentials, the Regions may establish storage and distribution centers, in cooperation with other public bodies, following a relevant decision by the Regional governor or a joint decision with the competent managing agent of the other public body; such decision shall define the conditions of the centers’ operation. These Centers may be staffed with personnel from the above bodies.
The procedure for the award of contracts set in the previous indent as well as the award of the similar contracts by the Ministries and decentralized government administrations may, for reasons of emergency and unforeseeable needs and taking also into account public order grounds to be specifically justified, be conducted in a negotiated procedure without publication of a call for tender, by derogation to any other national provision, with the exception of the European Union legislation concerning public tenders.
These contracts shall be considered, until 31/12/2016, to meet the requirements of the relevant provisions on contingency and emergency need, brought about by unforeseeable by the contracting authorities events, which did not arise because of their own responsibility, by derogation to the provisions of article 2 paragraph 2 case c) subcase dd0 of law 4013/2011.
These costs shall be paid from the budget appropriations of the above, as appropriate, relevant bodies following a decision of the competent organ. By relevant decisions by the Ministers for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, Economy and Finance, Development and Tourism, it is allowed to allocate funds to the above bodies from appropriations either under the regular budget, the Public Investments Program or from any other source of funding in order for them to deal with the refugee crisis, and exclusively to cover expenses for the actions undertaken in the context of this paragraph alone. In applying this provision, the provisions of articles 26 and 30 of law 4251/2014 shall not apply.”
2. By decision from the competent authorizing officer, it shall be allow to exempt from the procedure set in article 35 of law 4129/2013, as in force, the conclusion of public contracts for the supply of goods, the execution of works or the provision of services which are co-funded from the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund or the Internal Security Fund.
3. The Department of Finances of the Asylum Service of the Ministry for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction may exercise the duties of the competent Financial Service set in article 79, paragraph 3 of law 4270/2014, as in force for the payment of projects funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund or other European or international funding and which are entered in the Public Investments Program. The Director, by a decision, shall determine the actions (projects) and the account managers who shall make the payments.
Article 20
Modification of presidential decree 104/2012
1. Paragraph 3 of article 1 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force, is hereby repealed.
2. Point (e) of Article 3 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force, is hereby repealed.
3. Article 4 of PD 104/2012, as in force, shall be replaced as follows:
“Article 4
Structure of the Central Asylum Service
The Central Asylum Service shall be a single Service and shall be structured in the following departments:
a) Director’s Secretariat – Public Relations and Media Office
b) Department of International and European Cooperation
c) Legal Department
d) Coordination Department
e) Dublin National Unit Department
f) Human Resources department
g) Department of Training, Quality Assurance and Documentation
h) Department of Finances
i) Program Management and Implementation Department
j) Department of Administrative and Technical Support
k) IT Department ”
4. Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18 and 22 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force, are hereby repealed.
5. Articles 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23 and 24 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force, shall be renumbered 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 respectively.
6. Article 5 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force and renumbered under paragraph 5 above, shall be replaced as follows:
“Article 5
Mission of the Regional Asylum Services
Regional Asylum Services and Autonomous Asylum Units shall be under the Central Asylum Service and shall aim, within their territorial jurisdiction, to apply the legislation on international protection, and in particular to:
a) take the fingerprints of applicants for international protection within the scope of Council Regulation 2725/2000 of 11 December 2000 concerning the establishment of “EURODAC” and to issue identity and travel documents, b) receive and examine applications for international protection c) receive the quasi-judicial appeals set in article 5, paragraph 5 of law 3907/2011 and to transmit them to the Appeals Authority, d) inform applicants for international protection on the procedure for examining their applications, as well as their rights and obligations, e) supply applicants for international protection as well as beneficiaries of international protection with the identity and travel documents foreseen, f) facilitate applicants in terms of reception conditions, in cooperation but other competent bodies, g) exercise any other competence conferred upon them by the provisions in force. ”
7. Article 6, paragraph 1 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force and renumbered under paragraph 5 above, shall be replaced as follows:
‘1. The Regional Asylum Offices and their territorial jurisdiction shall be as follows:
a) Regional Office Asylum of Attica with territorial jurisdiction over the region of Attica, Central Greece and the regional units of Naxos (municipalities of Naxos and Small Cyclades and Amorgos), of Paros (municipalities of Paros and Antiparos), of Milos (municipalities of Milos, Kimolos, Serifos and Sifnos), of Syros (municipality of Syros – Ermoupolis), of Kea – Kythnos (municipalities of Kea and Kythnos), of Tinos (municipality of Tinos), of Mykonos (municipality of Mykonos), of Andros (municipality of Andros) and of Thira (municipalities of Thira, Ios, Sikinos, Folegandros and Anafi) of the South Aegean region,
b) Regional Asylum Office of Thessaloniki with territorial jurisdiction over the regions of Central and Western Macedonia,
c) Regional Asylum Office of Thrace with territorial jurisdiction over the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace,
d) Regional Asylum Office of Epirus with territorial jurisdiction over Epirus region and the regional unit of Corfu of the Ionian Islands Region
e) Regional Asylum Office of Thessaly with territorial jurisdiction over the region of Thessaly,
f) Regional Asylum Office of Western Greece with territorial jurisdiction over the region of Western Greece, Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands except the regional unit of Corfu,
g) Regional Asylum Office of Crete with territorial jurisdiction over the region of Crete,
h) Regional Asylum Office of Lesvos with territorial jurisdiction over the regional unit of Lesvos (Lesbos municipality) and Limnos (municipalities of Lemnos and Agios Efstratios) of the North Aegean region,
i) Regional Asylum Office of Chios with territorial jurisdiction over the regional unit of Chios (municipalities of Chios, Psara and Oinousses) of the Region of Northern Aegean,
j) Regional Asylum Office of Samos with territorial jurisdiction over the regional units of Samos (Samos municipality) and Ikaria (municipalities of Ikaria and Fournoi) of the Region of Northern Aegean,
k) Regional Asylum Office of Leros with l with territorial jurisdiction over the regional units of Kos (municipalities of Kos and Nisyros) and Kalymnos (municipalities of Astypalaia Kalymnos, Lipsi, Leros, Patmos and Agathonisi) of the South Aegean region and
l) Regional Asylum Office of Rhodes with territorial jurisdiction over the regional units of Rhodes (municipalities of Rhodes, Symi, Halki, Tilos and Megisti) and Karpathos (municipalities of Karpathos and Kasos) of the South Aegean region.
8. Paragraph 4 of article 6 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force and renumbered under paragraph 5 above, shall be repealed.
9. Paragraph 2 of article 7 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force and renumbered under paragraph 5 above, shall be replaced as follows:
“2. Regional Asylum Offices and Autonomous Asylum Units shall operate at level of units and shall be equal to each other. ”
10. Article 8 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force and renumbered under paragraph 5 above, shall have the following points (j), (k) (l) and (m) added, as follows:
‘J. executes and manages the Asylum Service budget, k. signs any decision, communication and contract, which involves the recruitment of staff under fixed-term private law contracts or under work contracts, in accordance with the applicable provisions other than those relating to the recruitment of staff under fixed-term private law contracts or under work contracts for the purposes of implementing the European Asylum, Immigration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund or programs funded by European or international funds or private funds, which are signed by the Head of the Human Resources Department l. sign, on behalf of the Asylum Service, loan contracts relating to real estate for housing its services or concern mobile equipment to meet the needs of the Asylum Service and m. authorizes a subordinate hierarchically organ to sign, by his/her order, acts or other documents of his/her competence in accordance with the relevant provisions. ”
11. Point (a) of paragraph 1 of article 9 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force and renumbered under paragraph 5 above, shall be replaced as follows:
“A) The Department of International and European Cooperation shall be headed by a civil servant of the category Special Scientific Personnel or university graduate in grade Administration-Finances, or a university graduate in grade Administration, with relevant experience and excellent knowledge of English and, failing that, a university graduate in grade Administration-Finances, or in grade Administration, or in grade Finances with managerial skills and very good knowledge of English”.
12. Point (e) of paragraph 1 of article 9 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as in force and renumbered under paragraph 5 above, shall be amended as follows:
“E) The Department of Administrative and Technical Support shall be headed by a civil servant of the category Special Scientific Personnel or university graduate in grade Administration-Finances, or a university graduate in grade Administration, with relevant experience and, failing that, a university graduate in grade Administration-Finances or in grade Administration, or in grade Finances with managerial skills”.
13. In paragraph 1 of Article 9 of Presidential Decree 104/12, as amended and renumbered under paragraph 5 above points (g), (h), (i), (j) and (k) shall be added, as follows:
“G) The Department of Management and Programs shall be headed by a civil servant of the category Special Scientific Personnel or university graduate in grade Administration-Finances, or a university graduate in grade Administration, with relevant experience and excellent knowledge of English and, failing that, a university graduate in grade Administration-Finances or in grade Administration, or in grade Finances with managerial skills and very good knowledge of English.
h) The Legal Department shall be headed by a civil servant of the category Special Scientific Personnel or university graduate in grade Administration-Finances, or a university graduate in grade Administration with a law degree, with relevant experience and excellent knowledge of English and, failing that, a university graduate in grade Administration-Finances or in grade Administration, or in grade Finances with a law degree, managerial skills and very good knowledge of English.
i) The Department of National Dublin Unit Offices
j) The Information Technology Department shall be headed by a civil servant of the category Special Scientific Personnel or university graduate in grade IT, with relevant experience and excellent knowledge of English and, failing that, a university graduate in grade IT with managerial skills and very good knowledge of English.
k) The Secretariat of the Director and the Public Relations Office shall be headed by a civil servant of the category Special Scientific Personnel or university graduate in grade Administration-Finances, or a university graduate in grade Administration, or a university graduate in grade Communication and Media, with relevant experience and excellent knowledge of English and, failing that, a university graduate in grade Administration-Finances or in grade Administration, or in grade Finances with managerial skills and very good knowledge of English, and, failing that, a secondary education graduate in grade Administration-Accounting with managerial skills and very good knowledge of English “.
14. Article 10 of Presidential Decree 104/2012, as force and renumbered under paragraph 5 above, shall be replaced as follows:
“Article 10 – Heads of Regional Asylum Service
1. The Regional Asylum Offices and Autonomous Asylum Units shall be headed by a civil servant of the category Special Scientific Personnel or university graduate in grade Administration-Finances, or a university graduate in grade Administration with relevant experience and very good knowledge of English and, failing that, a university graduate in grade Administration-Finances or in grade Administration, or in grade Finances with managerial skills, and, failing that, a secondary education graduate in grade Administration-Accounting with managerial skills. Additional qualifications may be specified in the calling notice. The duties of a Head can also be assigned to persons seconded from other services.
2. The Heads of the Regional Asylum Offices and of the Autonomous Asylum Units shall be in charge of them and shall be responsible for the effective performance of their mission. Specifically: a. they shall be responsible for monitoring, controlling and evaluating their staff, as well as for the distribution of their tasks, b. they shall establish the structure and office organization of the Regional Asylum Offices and the Autonomous Asylum Units respectively, c. a subordinate hierarchically organ to sign, by his/her order, acts or other documents of his/her competence in accordance with the relevant provisions, and d. exercise any other competence conferred upon them by the Director or stipulated in the Internal Regulation of the Asylum Service. ”
Article 21
Modification of presidential decree 141/2013 (O.G. A’ 226)
1. Point (b) of paragraph 1 of Article 17 of Presidential Decree 141/2013 (O.G. A’ 226) shall be replaced as follows:
“B) has committed a serious crime before entering the country. As a serious crime may be considered any felony or misdemeanor punishable by an imprisonment of at least three years, and the offenses of grievous bodily injury (Criminal Code 310), child abduction (CC 324), involontary abduction (CC 327), violation of sexual dignity (CC 337 para. 2-5), molestation of children (CC 339), abuse of minors in lechery (CC 342), child pornography (CC 348A), enticement of children to sexual purposes (CC 348B), pimping (CC 349), exploitation of prostitutes (CC 350), abuse of minors for payment (CC 351A) and extortion (CC 385), “.
2. Article 23 of Presidential Decree 141/2013 shall be replaced by the following:
Article 23
(Article 23 of the Directive)
Maintaining family unity
1. The competent authorities shall ensure that all necessary measures allowing for maintaining family unity are taken.
2. Family members of the beneficiary of international protection who do not individually qualify for international protection shall receive, at their request and with the same procedures, the rights referred to in Articles 24 to 36, if this is compatible with any other status that these members may enjoy. These rights should ensure a satisfactory standard of living for the beneficiary and once granted, shall be maintained individually even after the coming of age of the child or the termination of the marital relationship by divorce, separation or death of the beneficiary of international protection.
3. These rights shall not be granted or withdrawn when the family member is or would be excluded from international protection pursuant to Chapters C and E.
4. The Head of the Regional Asylum Office with a decision may deny, restrict, or withdraw the benefits referred therein for reasons of national security or public order.
5. This article shall also be applicable to the parents of the beneficiary of international protection, if they lived with the family as part of it at the time of departure from the country of origin, and who were dependent on him, wholly or mainly, if they are in the country and do not meet individually the conditions for the recognition of international protection status. ”
3.Article 24 of Presidential Decree 141/2013 shall be replaced by the following:
Article 24
(Article 24 of the Directive)
Residence permits
1. An alien or stateless person who is recognized as a beneficiary of international protection shall receive by the competent receiving authority, subject to paragraph 3 of Article 21, a residence permit for three years. The permit is renewed by decision of the Head of the Regional Asylum Office at the request of the person concerned to be submitted to the competent receiving authority, not later than thirty calendar days before the deadline. The belated unjustified application for renewal cannot by itself lead to its rejection.
2. The residence permits referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be granted or renewed by decision of the Head of the Regional Asylum Office when the withdrawal of international protection status is under consideration, when reasons of public order or national security are invoked.
3. In the case of Article 23 paragraph 2, family members of beneficiaries of international protection shall be granted residence permits with the duration of the validity of the permit of the beneficiary. If a beneficiary of international protection has a child within the family which already existed before entering the country, that child shall be granted a residence permit in accordance with the preceding subparagraph, at the request of the holder, which must be accompanied by the birth certificate of the child.
4. Family members of beneficiaries of international protection, where the family has been created after entering the country, and who are within the country, shall receive a residence permit in accordance with paragraph 3, at the request of the beneficiary and the production, for the spouses, of the relevant marriage certificate with a holder of a residence permit in force, and for parents and children, the birth certificate or the child recognition act. The permit shall be refused if it is incompatible with another status that family members already enjoy.
5. The above residence permit, which shall prove the identification of the beneficiaries of international protection, shall be printed by the Passport Division of the Hellenic Police. “.
Article 22
Residence permit for humanitarian reasons to applicants for international protection
1. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 28 of Presidential Decree 114/2010, as amended and in force, the General Secretary of Public Order of the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction shall grant residence status on humanitarian grounds to applicants for international protection who are holders of an asylum seeker’s card in force and whose application had been lodged up to five ( 5) years before the entry into force of the present law and its examination is pending in second instance, unless there is a risk to national security or to the country’s society, in particular because of a final conviction of the applicant for committing a serious crime.
(b) as a serious crime may be defined any felony or misdemeanor punishable by an imprisonment of at least three years, and the offenses of grievous bodily injury (Criminal Code 310), child abduction (CC 324), involuntary abduction (CC 327), violation of sexual dignity (CC 337 para. 2-5), molestation of children (CC 339), abuse of minors in lechery (CC 342), child pornography (CC 348A), enticement of children to sexual purposes (CC 348B), pimping (CC 349), exploitation of prostitutes ( CC 350), abuse of minors for payment (CC 351A) and extortion (CC 385), “.
2. The residence permit of paragraph 1 hereof, shall be granted for two years and may be renewed by application submitted to the Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction if the conditions of Article 19A par. 1 case. (f) of law 4251/2014 are met, without prior referral to the Appeals Committees of presidential decree 114/2010, as amended and in force, or for one of the reasons mentioned in law 4251/2014.
3. In the cases of paragraph 1 above, the pending appeals shall not be examined as provided in presidential decree 114/2010 and the administrative procedure shall be cancelled unless the applicant submits to the competent receiving authorities as per Article 2 para. (n) of Presidential Decree 114/2010, an application before the Appeals Committees to have his application examined in view of fulfilling the requirements international protection, within two months after service of the decision to grant him/her humanitarian residence status. Where an application in accordance with the preceding paragraph is lodged to the Appeals Committees, in order for them to examine the appeal, the applicant shall receive an asylum seeker card and the process continues in accordance with the provisions of P.D. 114/2010.
Article 23
Modification of presidential decree 114/2010 (O.G. A’ 195)
1. Paragraph 1 of Article 25 of presidential decree 114/2010, as amended by article 2 of Presidential Decree 167/2014 (O.G. A’ 252), shall be replaced by the following:
“Appeals submitted after the expiration of the time limits set in paragraph 1 paragraph (1), shall be examined in priority by the Appeals Committee which shall decide on their admissibility. When the Committee finds the appeal to be admissible, it shall issue a relevant decision, which shall be notified to the appellant, according to the provisions of article 7, who shall also receive again the applicant’s card. The examination in substance shall take place at a later stage, in accordance with the provisions of article 26, paragraph 6. In the contrary case, the appeal shall be rejected. When an appeal is submitted against a decision withdrawing international protection status, the appellant shall receive back his/her residence permit.
2. After the last indent of paragraph 5 of Article 26 of presidential decree 114/2010 shall be added the following:
“in all cases, a hearing with the appellant shall take place, if s/he makes a relevant request at least two (2) days before the examination of the appeal”.
3. Case (a) in paragraph 1 of Article 26 of presidential decree 114/2010, as amended by article 3 of Presidential Decree 167/2014 (O.G. A’ 252), shall be replaced by the following:
“a. an official of a Ministry or of a legal entity supervised by a Ministry, including local government, of a university level, graduate of humanitarian, legal or social sciences, as Chairman appointed, together with his/her deputy, by the competent Minister”.
4. The competent Alternate Minister for Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, may, by a decision, appoint as presidents ofthe Appeals Committees set by articles 26 and 32 of Presidential Decree 114/2010, persons with expertise or experience in the fields of international protection, human rights or international law, from a list drawn up for this purpose by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Article 24
Modification of Presidential Decree 167/2014 (O. G. A’ 252)
Paragraph 1a of article 7 of Presidential Decree 167/2014, shall be replaced by the following:
“1.a. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 14 of Presidential Decree 114/2010, the Determining Authority of Article 2 point (s) of Presidential Decree 114/2010 shall interrupt, on the grounds of implicit withdrawal, the procedure for examining international protection applications which, at the entry into force of this law, have been rejected at first instance and are pending at second instance, if the applicant has not appeared to renew the special asylum seeker’s card until 31 August, 2015. The determining authority shall issue a relevant act on this interruption which shall be served to the applicant in accordance with the provisions of Articles 47 and following of the Administrative Procedure Code (law 2717/1999, O.G. A’97). ”
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