France - Council of State, 24 Nov 2010, Ofpra vs. Miss A., n°317749

Facts:

The applicant’s asylum application was rejected by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra). On appeal, the Cour Nationale du Droit d’Asil (National Asylum Court) (CNDA) granted subsidiary protection. The Ofpra requested that the Council of State quash this decision and instead grant the applicant refugee status.

Decision & reasoning:

The Council of State outlined that the CNDA, after considering that the facts presented by the applicant were established, concluded that these facts could qualify as, on the one hand as persecution carried out by the State and, on the other hand as persecution for reasons of political opinion and religious belief. The CNDA nevertheless concluded that neither of these facts, nor their qualification, fell within the scope of the 1951 Refugee Convention and could only justify the benefit of subsidiary protection.

The Council of State considered that, by excluding the application of refugee protection, after having precisely considered that it was applicable and by granting subsequently subsidiary protection, whereas this protection could only be granted when refugee protection was not applicable and whereas refugee protection could legally be applied according to the qualification of the facts of the case, the CNDA made a contradictory decision and a legal error.

The Council of State therefore concluded that the request of the Ofpra to quash the decision of the CNDA was well-founded. The case was referred to the CNDA for a fresh decision.

Outcome:

The decision of the CNDA granting subsidiary protection instead of refugee protection was quashed. The case was referred to the CNDA.