The Hellenic Left (ELAS) has welcomed the decision of the Coordinating Committee of the Plenary of Bar Association Presidents, who voted to refuse compliance with the Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD) issued by the Ministries of Migration and Justice regarding asylum cases.
The rights division of ELAS states that the State is asking lawyers to participate in the government’s peculiar “headhunt” targeting vulnerable groups of citizens, and pledges that “on the first day of taking office, it will abolish the specific JMD.”
ELAS: “We will abolish the asylum JMD” — the official statement
“The recently issued Joint Ministerial Decision by the Ministries of Migration and Justice concerning applicants for international protection reflects a value system in which the political management of social problems is contingent on financial reward.
– The lawyer’s role is cynically described as mere ‘guidance’ — not even the provision of advisory services, let alone informing applicants of their rights and available options.
– The lawyer’s work is reduced to reciting provisions and procedures, with no interaction tailored to each individual applicant or their specific case, and no obligation to answer relevant questions.
– Should the ‘guidance’ be crowned with ‘success’ — meaning the applicant agrees to leave voluntarily — the lawyer is rewarded with €250 for their ‘services,’ functioning as a bonus for achieving the government’s target.
– The lawyer is subject to evaluation by officials of the Ministry of Migration, who are also entitled to monitor the process, in direct violation of the principle of confidentiality.
– The State is asking lawyers to become complicit in the government’s peculiar “headhunt” against vulnerable groups of citizens, in violation of their institutional role, the core of their professional duty, human dignity, and the rule of law.
We welcome the unanimous decision of the Coordinating Committee of the Plenary of Bar Association Presidents, which unequivocally condemns the content of this Joint Ministerial Decision.
ELAS will abolish this specific JMD on the first day of taking office, always with an eye toward building a state governed by dignity and the rule of law.”
