M.S.S. v. BELGIUM AND GREECE JUDGMENT 67 examined on an individual basis, the asylum-seeker could be assisted by a lawyer and an interpreter would be present at every stage of the proceedings. Remedies also existed, including an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. Accordingly, although aware of the possible deficiencies of the asylum system in Greece, the Government submitted that they had been sufficiently convinced of the efforts Greece was making to comply with Community law and its obligations in terms of human rights, including its procedural obligations. 329. As to the risk of refoulement to Afghanistan, the Government had also taken into account the assurances Greece had given the Court in K.R.S. v. the United Kingdom ((dec.), no. 32733/08, 2 December 2008) and the possibility for the applicant, once in Greece, to lodge an application with the Court and, if necessary, a request for the application of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court. On the strength of these assurances, the Government considered that the applicant’s transfer had not been in violation of Article 3. B. Observations of the Governments of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and of the UNHCR, the AIRE Centre, Amnesty International and the Greek Helsinki Monitor, third-party interveners 330. According to the Government of the Netherlands, it did not follow from the possible deficiencies in the Greek asylum system that the legal protection afforded to asylum-seekers in Greece was generally illusory, much less that the member States should refrain from transferring people to Greece because in so doing they would be violating Article 3 of the Convention. It was for the European Commission and the Greek authorities, with the logistical support of the other member States, and not for the Court, to work towards bringing the Greek system into line with Community standards. The Government of the Netherlands therefore considered that they were fully assuming their responsibilities by making sure, through an official at their embassy in Athens, that any asylum-seekers transferred would be directed to the asylum services at Athens International Airport. In keeping with the Court’s decision in K.R.S. v. the United Kingdom (cited above), it was to be assumed that Greece would honour its international obligations and that transferees would be able to appeal to the domestic courts and subsequently, if necessary, to the Court. To reason otherwise would be tantamount to denying the principle of inter-State confidence on which the Dublin system was based, blocking the application of the Dublin Regulation by interim measures, and questioning the balanced, nuanced approach the Court had adopted, for example in its judgment in Bosphorus Hava Yolları Turizm ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi v. Ireland ([GC], no. 45036/98, ECHR 2005-VI), in assessing the responsibility of the States when they applied Community law.

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