M.S.S. v. BELGIUM AND GREECE JUDGMENT 39 no known address” did not work in practice. Thus, many asylum-seekers were unable to follow the progress of their applications and missed the deadlines. 188. The time taken for asylum applications to be examined at first instance and on appeal is very long. According to the UNHCR, in July 2009, 6,145 cases at first instance and 42,700 cases on appeal were affected by delays. According to information sent to the Commissioner by the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection, the total number of asylum applications pending had reached 44,650 in February 2010. 3. Remedies 189. Being opposed, inter alia, to the abolition in 2009 of the secondinstance role played by the refugee advisory committees (see paragraph 115 above), the UNHCR announced in a press release on 17 July 2009 that it would no longer be taking part in the asylum procedure in Greece. 190. As regards appeals to the Supreme Administrative Court, the reports mentioned in paragraph 160 above denounce the excessive length of the proceedings. According to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the average duration at the present time was five and a half years. They also emphasise that an appeal against a negative decision does not automatically suspend the expulsion order and that separate proceedings have to be initiated in order to seek a stay of execution. These can last between 10 days and 4 years. Furthermore, they consider that the review exercised by the Supreme Administrative Court is not extensive enough to cover the essential details of complaints alleging Convention violations. 191. Lastly, they remark that in practice the legal aid system for lodging an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court does not work. It is hindered by the reluctance and the resulting lack of lawyers on the legal aid list because of the length of the proceedings and the delays in their remuneration. 4. Risk of refoulement 192. The risk of refoulement of asylum-seekers by the Greek authorities, be it indirectly, to Turkey, or directly to the country of origin, is a constant concern. The reports listed in paragraph 160 above, as well as the press, have regularly reported this practice, pointing out that the Greek authorities deport, sometimes collectively, both asylum-seekers who have not yet applied for asylum and those whose applications have been registered and who have been issued with “pink cards”. Expulsions to Turkey are effected either at the unilateral initiative of the Greek authorities, at the border with Turkey, or in the framework of the readmission agreement between Greece and Turkey. It has been established that several of the people thus expelled