France – Administrative Court of Appeal of Douai, 19 September 2017, N° 17DA00024
| Country of Decision: | France |
| Country of applicant: | Congo (DRC) |
| Court name: | Administrative Court of Appeal of Douai, 2nd chamber |
| Date of decision: | 19-09-2017 |
Keywords:
| Keywords |
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Benefit of doubt
Description
The advantage derived from doubt about guilt, a possible error, or the weight of evidence. “When statements are not susceptible of proof, even with independent research, if the applicant's account appears credible, he should, unless there are good reasons to the contrary, be given the benefit of the doubt. The requirement of evidence should thus not be too strictly applied in view of the difficulty of proof inherent in the special situation in which an applicant for refugee status finds himself. Allowance for such possible lack of evidence does not, however, mean that unsupported statements must necessarily be accepted as true if they are inconsistent with the general account put forward by the applicant." |
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Unaccompanied minor
Description
“’Unaccompanied minors’ means third-country nationals or stateless persons below the age of 18, who arrive on the territory of the Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for them whether by law or custom, and for as long as they are not effectively taken into the care of such a person; it includes minors who are left unaccompanied after they have entered the territory of the Member States.” |
Headnote:
The benefit of the doubt benefits the minor.
Facts:
The applicant, M. Rems M., requests the Administrative Court of Appeal of Douai to quash the decision of the Administrative Tribunal of Rouen which rejected his application for asylum in France and ordered him to leave the territory.
Decision & reasoning:
Subject to article L.511-4 of the French Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and of the Right of Asylum, no foreigner under the age of eighteen years old can be subject to an order to leave the territory. It is for the administrative authorities to establish that the person in question was not a minor at the time of the order to leave the territory and that it could not benefit from the protection of the right of asylum.
On the one hand, the applicant’s birth certificate from the Guinean administrative authorities indicating that he was born on 24 June 1999 and two orders emanating from the Tribunal for Children’s Rights of Rouen sending M. Rems M. to the social assistance services suggest that he was a minor at the time of the order to leave the territory. On the other hand, the results of a bone test produce by the Prefect of l’Eure suggest he was nineteen years old.
The Administrative Court of Appeal of Douai recalled that bone tests for age assessment have a margin of error, and because there is an element of doubt about the age of the applicant in view of the entirety of the elements discussed above, it concludes that the minor should have the benefit of the doubt.
Outcome:
Appeal granted.
Subsequent proceedings:
AIDA Legal Briefing No. 5: “Detriment of the Doubt: Age Assessment of the Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children”
UK, 11 November 2017: The UK Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) ruled in case AS, R (on the application of) v. Kent County Council, concerning the application of the principle of the benefit of the doubt in age assessment cases: “It does not mean, contrary to the applicant’s submission, that if a decision-maker concludes that a child is between 15 and 17 years old, application of the benefit of the doubt would lead to a decision that he or she is 15.”
Observations/comments:
This case summary was written by Clara Gautrais, LPC student at BPP University.
Relevant International and European Legislation:
Cited National Legislation:
| Cited National Legislation |
| France – Law 91-647 of 10 July 1991 on Legal Aid |
| France – Code of Administrative Justice |
| France – Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and of the Right of Asylum |