France – Council of State, 20 October 2009, Mr. & Mrs. A, No 332631
Keywords:
| Keywords |
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Reception conditions
Description
The full set of measures that Member States grant to asylum seekers in accordance with Directive 2003/9/EC. |
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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." |
Headnote:
In this case the Council of State had to determine whether the Reception Conditions Directive continues to apply to asylum applicants that are subject to procedures under the Dublin Regulation. The Council found Member States are bound by the obligations in the Directive until the handling of the applicant’s case or the transfer to the Responsible Member State is enforced.
Facts:
On 8 September 2009, a Georgian couple and their two children submitted a request to the French Prefecture of Gironde for a temporary residence permit in order to apply for asylum. The Prefect summoned the applicants on 8 October 2009 to examine their request. The applicants made an urgent application to the Administrative Tribunal, arguing they were deprived of the reception conditions guaranteed under the Reception Conditions Directive. On 14 September 2009, the Tribunal requested that the Prefect, within 24 hours, find suitable accommodation for the couple and their two children. The Prefect did not comply with this request. The applicants referred the non-compliance to the Tribunal. On 25 September 2009, the Tribunal rejected the applicants’ claim because, since the last decision, they had been placed under a Dublin Regulation procedure. The EURODAC database indicated the family applied for asylum in Poland and Switzerland. As a result, France is not the Member State responsible for their asylum procedure and according to the Tribunal the French authorities are not bound by the obligations of the Reception Conditions Directive. The applicants appealed to the Council of State.
Decision & reasoning:
The Council of State held that the Reception Conditions Directive shall apply to all third country nationals and stateless persons who make an application for asylum at the border or in the territory of a Member State as long as they are allowed to remain on the territory as asylum applicants. There is no provision in the Dublin Regulation that limits access to reception conditions provided by the Reception Conditions Directive when a transfer procedure is pending. The Council concluded that Member States shall provide reception conditions to asylum applicants that are subject to a procedure under the Dublin Regulation until the handling of their case or the transfer to the Responsible Member State is really enforced.
Outcome:
The appeal was allowed.
Observations/comments:
This summary has been reproduced and adapted for inclusion in EDAL with the kind permission of Forum Réfugiés-Cosi, coordinator of Project HOME/2010/ERFX/CA/1721 "European network for technical cooperation on the application of the Dublin II regulation" which received the financial support of the European Refugee Fund.
Relevant International and European Legislation:
Cited National Legislation:
| Cited National Legislation |
| France - Code de justice administrative (Code of Administrative Justice) - Art L.521-2 |