EDAL - Spain: Supreme Court. Chamber of Contentious-Administrative Proceedings n. 1182/2016, 16th March 2016, Appeal No. 2563/2015

Spain: Supreme Court. Chamber of Contentious-Administrative Proceedings n. 1182/2016, 16th March 2016, Appeal No. 2563/2015

Country of Decision:	Spain
Country of applicant:	Syria
Court name:	Supreme Court
Date of decision:	16-03-2016
Citation:	Supreme Court, Chamber of Contentious-Administrative Proceedings, Case n. 1182/2016, of 16 March 2016.

STS_1182_2016 (0.14Mo)

Keywords:

Keywords
Persecution Grounds/Reasons
Personal circumstances of applicant

Headnote:

The decision of denying asylum is disproportionate, as the fact that the acts of persecution are indiscriminate and affect a large majority of the population do not exclude the application of the 1951 Convention when the necessary elements of the provision are present. The reports of UNHCR were also noted in the Court’s assessment, particularly regarding the risk groups that the organisation has characterised.

Facts:

The applicants, Syrian nationals, submitted an asylum application which was rejected on 2 July 2014. However, they were granted subsidiary protection. They appealed this decision, recognition of the right of asylum.

however, the court does not find enough evidence to declare the existence of the necessary element of persecution in order to grant asylum. Following this, they submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision & reasoning:

The claim of the applicants is based on three grounds involving article 88.1.d) of Act 130/1992. They reasoned that the Court has erred in the interpretation of article 3 of Act 12/2009 and article 2.c) of the Directive 2004/83/CE in the relation of articles 6 and 7 of the cited Act and articles 9 and 10 of the Directive. This violation responds to the consideration of the Court that the alleged motives of persecution by the applicant are not related to article 3 of Act 12/2009 and the 1951 Convention. The applicants also argued an infraction of article 54 of Act 30/1992 in relation to article 24.1 of the Spanish Constitution as the Court did not make an expressed reference to the particular circumstances of the applicant. Lastly, they claim an infraction of article 218.2 and 218.3 of the Act 1/2000 as the Court did not take into account the Report of UNCHR and ACCEM, that state the need of granting asylum to the applicants, or the documents and references incorporated in the claim.

The Supreme Court concluded that article 3 of Act 12/2009 must be interpreted in light of the 1951 Convention and should contain an equilibrated and balanced examination of the facts and personal circumstances of the applicant to concur whether the necessary elements are present in the case. This means that it should not be interpreted restrictively, therefore the Court erred in their judgement due to their very narrow approach.

The Court concluded that the decision of denying asylum is disproportionate, as the fact that the acts of persecution are indiscriminate and affect a large majority of the population do not exclude the application of the 1951 Convention when the necessary elements of the provision are present. The reports of UNHCR were also noted in the Court’s assessment, particularly regarding the risk groups that the organisation has characterised.

Outcome:

Appeal granted.

Relevant International and European Legislation:

1 - International Law

1.1 - 1951 Refugee Convention

1.1.1 - Art 1A (2)

1.1.2 - Art 33

2 - European Union Law

2.1 - EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004

2.1.4 - Art 2

2.2 - EN - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

2.2.1 - Article 1

2.2.2 - Article 18

2.3 - Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 2010/C 83/01

2.3.1 - Article 78

Cited National Legislation:

Cited National Legislation
Act 29/1998
Act 1/2000
Article 17
Article 8
Article 7
Act 12/2009 of 30 October regulating the Right of Asylum and Subsidiary Protection (Ley 12/2009
de 30 de octubre
de 13 de julio
Spanish Constitution (Constitución Española. Boletín Oficial del Estado
29 de diciembre de 1978
of July 13
regulating the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction (Ley 29/1998
reguladora de la Jurisdicción Contencioso-administrativa) – Article 88.1.d)
of January 7
on Civil Procedure (Ley 1/2000
de 7 de enero
Act 30/1992 of 26 November regulating Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure (Ley 30/1992
de 26 de noviembre
reguladora del derecho de asilo y de la protección subsidiaria) – Article 3
article 5.7.3
article 6
article 9 and article 10.
núm. 311) – Article 24.1
article 10.2
article 13.4
article 19 and article 106.1.
article 95.2.d) and article 139.
de Enjuiciamiento Civil) – Article 218.2 and article 218.3.
de Régimen Jurídico de las Administraciones Públicas y del Procedimiento Administrativo Común) – Article 54 and article 89.5.
Act 5/1984 of 26 March regulating the right to asylum and refugee status (Ley 5/1984
de 26 de marzo
reguladora del derecho de asilo y de la condición de refugiado) – Article 1
article 2 and article 3.
Organic Act 4/2000
of 11 January
on the Rights and Liberties of Foreigners in Spain and their Social Integration (“Act on Foreigners”) (Ley Orgánica 4/2000
de 11 de enero
sobre derechos y libertades de los extranjeros en España y su integración social) – Article 25.1 and article 25.2.

Cited Cases:

Cited Cases
ECtHR - Amuur v. France, Application no 19776/92, 25 June 1996

Other sources:

Domestic Case Law cited

Supreme Court ruling n. 15278/1989 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of March 4, 1989 (appeal 1883/1988) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 15278/1989 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 4 de marzo de 1989 (recurso n. 1883/1988)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 2411/1989 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of April 10, 1989 – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 2411/1989 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 10 de abril de 1989).

Supreme Court ruling n. 4357/1989 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of July 18, 1989 – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 4357/1989 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 18 de julio de 1989).

Supreme Court ruling n. 4091/1998 (Contentious Chamber, Section 7), of June 19, 1998 (appeal n. 52/1997) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 4091/1998 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 7ª), de 19 de junio de 1998 (recurso n. 52/1997)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 6577/1988 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of September 28, 1988 – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 6577/1988 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 28 de septiembre de 1988).

Supreme Court ruling n. 16328/1991 (Contentious Chamber, Section 3), of May 21, 1991 – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 16328/1991 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 3ª), de 21 de mayo de 1991).

Supreme Court ruling n. 19364/1993 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of March 30, 1993 (appeal n. 357/1991) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 19364/1993 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 30 de marzo de 1993 (recurso n. 357/1991)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 2158/1993 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of March 30, 1993 – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 2158/1993 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 30 de marzo de 1993).

Supreme Court ruling n. 21763/1994 (Contentious Chamber, Section 6), of June 23, 1994 (appeal n. 7133/1992) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 21763/1994 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 6ª), de 23 de junio de 1994 (recurso n. 7133/1992)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 4271/2003 (Contentious Chamber, Section 6), of June 19, 2003 (appeal n. 475/1999) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 4271/2003 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 6ª), de 19 de junio de 2003 (recurso n. 475/1999)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 5526/2003 (Contentious Chamber, Section 6), of September 17, 2003 (appeal n. 2091/1999) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 5526/2003 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 6ª), de 17 de septiembre de 2003 (recurso n. 2091/1999)).

Judgement of the National Court n. 2156/2015 (Contentious Chamber, Section 2), of June 11, 2015 (appeal n. 491/2014) – (Sentencia de la Audiencia Nacional n. 2156/2015 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 2ª), de 11 de junio de 2015 (recurso n. 491/2015)).

Judgement of the National Court n. 1202/2015 (Contentious Chamber, Section 2), of April 1, 2015 (appeal n. 362/2014) – (Sentencia de la Audiencia Nacional n. 1202/2015 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 2ª), de 1 de abril de 2015 (recurso n. 362/2014)).

Judgement of the Constitutional Court n. 85/1995 (Section 1), of June 6, 1995 (appeal n. 4/1991) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional (Sala 1ª), de 6 de junio de 1995 (recurso n. 4/1991)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 1656/2000 (Contentious Chamber, Section 6), of March 2, 2000 (appeal n. 217/1996) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 1656/2000 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 6ª), de 2 de marzo de 2000 (recurso n. 217/1996)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 3405/1988 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of May 5, 1988 – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 3405/1988 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 9 de mayo de 1988).

Supreme Court ruling n. 2411/1989 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of April 10, 1989 – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 241/1989 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 10 de abril de 1989).

Supreme Court ruling n. 3405/1988 (Contentious Chamber, Section 1), of May 9, 1988 – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 3405/1988 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 1ª), de 9 de mayo de 1988).

Supreme Court ruling n. 6566/2011 (Contentious Chamber, Section 3), of October 10, 2011 (appeal n. 3933/2009) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 6566/2011 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 3ª), de 10 de octubre de 2011 (recurso n. 3933/2009)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 6565/2011 (Contentious Chamber, Section 3), of October 10, 2011 (appeal n. 4900/2009) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 6565/2011 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 3ª), de 10 de octubre de 2011 (recurso n. 4900/2009)).

Judgement of the Constitutional Court n. 53/2002, of February 27, 2002 (appeal n. 2994/1994) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional n. 53/2002, de 27 de febrero de 2002 (recurso n. 2994/1994)).

Judgement of the Constitutional Court n. 94/199 (Section 1), of March 22, 1993 (appeal n. 1744/1989) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional n. 94/1993 (Sala 1ª), de 22 de marzo de 1993 (recurso n. 1744/1989)).

Judgement of the Constitutional Court n. 86/1996 (Section 1), of May 21, 1996 (appeal n. 1764/1994) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional n. 86/1996 (Sala 1ª), de 21 de mayo de 1996 (recurso n. 1764/1994)).

Judgement of the Constitutional Court n. 174/1999 (Section 2), of November 3, 1999 (appeal n. 1374/1999) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional n. 174/1999 (Sala 2ª), de 27 de septiembre de 1999 (recurso n. 1374/1999)).

Judgement of the Constitutional Court n. 115/1987, of July 7, 1987 (appeal n. 880/85) – (Sentencia n. 115/1987, de 7 de julio de 1987 (recurso n. 880/85)).

Judgement of the Constitutional Court n. 21/1997 (Section 2), of February 10, 1997 (appeal n. 2212/96) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional n. 21/1997 (Sala 2ª), de 10 de febrero de 1997 (recurso n. 2212/96)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 3243/2014 (Contentious Chamber, Section 3), of July 24, 2014 (appeal n. 117/2014) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 3243/2014 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 3ª), de 24 de julio de 2014 (recurso n. 117/2014)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 2781/2009 (Contentious Chamber, Section 5), of May 11, 2009 (appeal n. 3155/2006) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 2781/2009 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 5ª), de 11 de mayo de 2009 (recurso n. 3155/2006)).

Supreme Court ruling n. 5211/2015 (Contentious Chamber, Section 3), of December 10, 2015 (appeal n. 1699/2015) – (Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo n. 5211/2015 (Sala de lo Contencioso, Sección 3ª), de 10 de diciembre de 2015 (recurso n. 1699/2015)).