National case summaries

Italy - Tribunal of Palermo, 13 September 2018, R.G. no. 9994/2018
Country of applicant: Mali

Neither the omission nor the delay of the Immigration Office can deprive an asylum applicant of the right to obtain the rehearing of their legal status in case of a change in the circumstances in their country of origin. 

Date of decision: 13-09-2018
Germany: Higher Administrative Court for Berlin and Brandenburg, 4th September 2018, OVG 3 S 47.18, OVG 3 M 52.18
Country of applicant: Iraq

A birth certificate is not a decision within the meaning of paragraph 108 FamFG. As a child grows older the need of beeing looked after by both its parents decreases. There is no necessity for interim order in the case of family reunification, when the child is about to come of age, as the right to subsequent immigration is not lost upon the child’s coming of age according to the CJEU.

Date of decision: 04-09-2018
Germany – Federal Administrative Court, 20 August 2018, 1 B 18.18
Country of applicant: Syria

Pursuant to Section 60 paragraph 5 of the Residence Act, refugees recognised abroad cannot be deported to the state in which they are recognised if the living conditions expected there contradict Article 3 of the ECHR. This presupposes that the situation in the country of destination reaches the minimum severity required for Article 3 ECHR, but an "extreme danger" within the meaning of the case-law regarding Section 60 paragraph 7 sentence 5 Residence Act is not a prerequisite.

A Syrian citizen who has been recognised as a refugee in Bulgaria cannot be deported to Bulgaria because of the degrading living conditions awaiting him there.

Date of decision: 20-08-2018
Netherlands – Court of The Hague, 16 August 2018, AWB 17/15601
Country of applicant: Syria

The official date of an Islamic marriage contracted in Syria needs to be determined with reference to Syrian law. An official notice by the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry’s states that “in the opinion of the Syrian authorities, the date set by the Sharia Court will be the official date of marriage.”

If according to the marriage certificate issued by the Sharia Court the marriage predates a sponsor’s entry into the Netherlands, it is sufficiently established that a valid marriage existed before this entry, also when registration before the Sharia Court took place after the entry.

Date of decision: 16-08-2018
United Kingdom - M.I (Palestine) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, 31 July 2018
Country of applicant: Palestinian Territory

Court ruled upon the correct test to use when considering returns to Palestine.

Date of decision: 31-07-2018
United Kingdom - KG v Secretary of State for the Home Department, High Court of Justice, 13 July 2018
Country of applicant: Sri Lanka
Keywords: Detention

According to UK detention rules, a detainee must be examined by a doctor within 24 hours of being detained in order to ascertain if they are a potential victim of torture.  

Date of decision: 13-07-2018
Portugal - J v. Immigration and Borders Service, No. 263/18.5 BELSB, 11 July 2018
Country of applicant: Ghana

The Court considered that the decision-maker should have had taken into consideration the applicant’s alleged vulnerable situation, and as a result ordered the case’s remittal to the Central Administrative Court of Lisbon so evidence could be collected on this.

Date of decision: 11-07-2018
Germany – Federal Administrative Court, 11 July 2018, BVerwG 1 C 18.17
Country of applicant: Afghanistan

The Federal Administrative Court has to clarify whether the petition for action directed solely at the obligation to decide on the asylum application is admissible. The question if it is also possible to directly oblige the defendant to grant international protection or to establish prohibitions on deportation by means of an action is not the subject of the decision. As a result, the court comes to the conclusion that there was a delay by the respondent of providing the decision on the asylum application without sufficient reason and that the plaintiff has a need for legal protection for its action for failure to act.

Date of decision: 11-07-2018
Switzerland – Supreme Administrative Court, 10. July 2018, E-5022/2017
Country of applicant: Eritrea

The judgment deals with the admissibility of the execution of an expulsion order of an Eritrean who illegally left the country. Despite the assumption that the entry into the national service in the country of origin constitutes forced labour within the meaning of Art. 4 para. 2 ECHR, enforcement is permissible since there was no flagrant violation of Art. 4 para. 2 ECHR.

Date of decision: 10-07-2018
Spain - Administrative Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court, 9 July 2018, No. 1.168/2018

The Administrative Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court established that Spain is bound by two Council Decisions of May and September 2015 establishing an EU Emergency Relocation Mechanism aimed at distributing a number of refugees that have arrived to Italy and Greece.

Date of decision: 09-07-2018