The case is registered with the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) under C-610/23

The Administrative Court of Thessaloniki referred the following questions to the CJEU:

1. Given the importance of the remedy referred to in Article 46 of Directive 2013/32, may the legislature infer a presumption that the appeal has been improperly brought and, as a consequence, dismiss the appeal, without a full and ex nunc examination of the case, as manifestly unfounded (which also results in the period for voluntary departure referred to in Article 22(4) of Law 3907/2011 and Article 7 of Directive 2008/115 not being granted) on the ground that the applicant [for international protection] did not appear in person before the committee examining the case?

2. (a) If it were to be held that this matter is covered by the principle of the procedural autonomy of the Member States, should the comparable national procedural rules, in the context of the examination of the principle of equivalence, be considered to be those governing proceedings before administrative committees hearing appeals under national law or the procedural rules governing the bringing of substantive actions (or applications for annulment) before administrative courts?

(b) Is it consistent with the principle of effectiveness of EU law and, in particular, the effective exercise of the right to an effective remedy to lay down an obligation to appear in person (or to send the attestation referred to in Article 78(3) of Law 4636/2019 in the cases provided for)? In that context, furthermore, is it relevant whether the presumption that the right of appeal has been improperly brought, provided for in Article 97(2) of Law 4636/2019, corresponds to the lessons of general experience and, in the context of the examination (at first instance) of applications for international protection, that the same conduct would lead to a presumption of implicit withdrawal rather than a rejection of the application as manifestly unfounded?