France - Council of State, 14 February 2013, n° 365638
| Country of Decision: | France |
| Country of applicant: | Afghanistan |
| Court name: | Council of State |
| Date of decision: | 14-02-2013 |
| Citation: | CE, 14 February 2013, n° 365638 |
Keywords:
| Keywords |
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Responsibility for examining application
Description
The Member State responsible for examining an application for asylum is determined in accordance with the criteria contained in Chapter III Dublin II Regulation in the order in which they are set out in that Chapter and on the basis of the situation obtaining when the asylum seeker first lodged his application with a Member State. |
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Dublin Transfer
Description
"The transfer of responsibility for the examination of an asylum application from one Member State to another Member State. Such a transfer typically also includes the physical transport of an asylum applicant to the Member State responsible in cases where the applicant is in another Member State and/or has lodged an application in this latter Member State (Article 19(3) of Council Regulation (EC) 343/2003). The determination of the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application is done on the basis of objective and hierarchical criteria, as laid out in Chapter III of Council Regulation (EC) 343/2003." |
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Material reception conditions
Description
“Reception conditions that include housing, food and clothing, provided in kind, or as financial allowances or in vouchers, and a daily expenses allowance.” |
Headnote:
The Council of State applied the reasoning employed by the CJEU in its ruling C-179-11 of 27 September 2012 and considered that temporary waiting allowance must be paid to asylum applicants subject to the Dublin II Regulation until they have actually been transferred to the Member State responsible for their asylum application.
Facts:
An asylum Applicant subject to the Dublin II Regulation in France wished to benefit from the minimum reception standards laid down in the Reception Conditions Directive as established by the CJEU in its ruling C-179-11 of 27 September 2012.
The judge hearing applications for interim relief at the Paris Administrative Tribunal issued an order rejecting his application, and requiring the Prefect of Police to issue him with an official document with a photograph, attesting to his identity, administrative status and permission to stay on the territory during the examination of his asylum application. These documents were crucial to the Applicant for the purposes of opening a bank account and receiving temporary waiting allowance.
The Applicant asked the Council of State judge hearing applications for interim relief to quash this order.
Decision & reasoning:
The Council of State applied the reasoning adopted by the CJEU in its ruling C-179-11 of 27 September 2012, considering that Council Directive 2003/9/EC of 27 January 2003 laying down minimum conditions for the reception of asylum seekers in Member States had to be interpreted as follows: a Member State in receipt of an application for asylum was required to grant an asylum Applicant the minimum reception conditions laid down in the Directive, including in cases where it had decided, in accordance with Council Regulation n° 343/2003/EC of 18 February 2003, to call on the Member State responsible for examination of the asylum application to take charge of or take back the Applicant. This duty only ended when the Applicant had actually been transferred to the Member State concerned.
Outcome:
No need to adjudicate, as representatives of the Ministry of the Interior indicated at the hearing that measures would be taken to allow the Reception Conditions Directive to apply in accordance with the interpretation given by the CJEU on 27 September 2012.
Observations/comments:
Ministerial Directionn°335924 of 23 April 2012, issued by the Ministry of the Interior, approved the application of CJEU ruling C-179/11 in France.
This Direction provided that in future Prefects must regularly inform Employment Centres issuing ATA (temporary waiting allowance) of developments in procedures for asylum applicants subject to the Dublin II Regulation.
Cited National Legislation:
| Cited National Legislation |
| France - CJA (Code of Administrative Justice) |
| France - law no. 91-647 of 10 July 1991 |
| France - Labour Code |
| France - Circular IOCL1107084C from the Ministry of the Interior |
Cited Cases:
| Cited Cases |
| CJEU - C-179/11 Cimade, Groupe d’information et de soutien des immigres (GISTI) v Ministre de l’Interieur, de L’Outre-mer, des Collectivities territorials et de l’Immigration |