Case summaries

Austria: Supreme Administrative Court (VwGH), 24. March 2015, Ro 2014/21/0080
Country of applicant: Algeria

Detention pending Dublin transfer can only be ordered on the basis of Article 28 Dublin-III-Regulation, which contains autonomous provisions on the detention of foreigner. Additional criteria laid down by national laws are required in order to specify the condition of "risk of absconding". A deportation detention order that does not even refer to Art. 28 Dublin-III-Regulation is unlawful.

Date of decision: 24-03-2015
France - National Asylum Court, 24 March 2015, Decision No. 10012810
Country of applicant: Nigeria

The case is a referral back to the CNDA from the Council of State in no. 350661 where the Council had found the CNDA to have erred in law in a previous appeal  (no. 10012810) by finding that Nigerian women, who were victims of human trafficking networks and who had actively sought to escape the network, constituted a social group within the meaning of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The CNDA found that victims of trafficking from the Edo State do, indeed, share a common background and distinct identity which falls within the definition of a particular social group. The applicant was given refugee status.

Date of decision: 24-03-2015
Poland - Judgement of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw from 16 March 2015 IV SA/Wa 974/14 dismissing the complaint against the decision of the Refugee Board refusing international protection
Country of applicant: Russia (Chechnya)

The administrative authorities ensured an adequate standard of proceedings and had correctly established the facts in a case of an applicant who had only brought up the argument that she was a victim of domestic violence at the court stage.

The Court does not accept the allegations that the applicant was deprived of her right to court because she and her children were deported before the deadline for the complaint to the court. The complaint was eventually lodged within the deadline which means she could benefit from the real possibility of applying this measure so her right to court was not infringed. Therefore the Court sees no need to request the Constitutional Tribunal to take a stand on this issue.

Date of decision: 16-03-2015
Slovenia - The Constitutional Court of Republic of Slovenia, 12 March 2015, judgment Up-797/14
Country of applicant: Bosnia and Herzegovina

The court may reject the request for a preliminary ruling to the CJEU when the provision is clear (acte clair), only if it checks that the clarity of the contested provision is equally obvious to the courts of other Member States and the CJEU, taking into account the characteristics of EU law and special problems posed by its interpretation, including a comparison of all language versions, respecting the specific terminology of EU law and the placement of the interpretation in the context of EU law.

The Constitutional Court annulled the contested judgment because of the infringement of the right to equal protection of rights in connection to the right to an effective remedy.

Date of decision: 12-03-2015
ECtHR- AL.K. v. Greece, Application no. 63542/11, 11 March 2015
Country of applicant: Iran

The case examined the allegations of an Iranian national that his detention conditions at the border posts of Feres and Soufli resulted in a violation of Article 3 of the Convention (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment). It further examined whether the applicant’s living conditions after his release resulted in degrading treatment in violation of Article 3. 

Date of decision: 11-03-2015
Hungary - Metropolitan Court of Public Administration and Labour, 6 March 2015, 7.K.34.513/2014/11
Country of applicant: Egypt

This case examines the refusal to grant international protection status to a physically disabled, single Egyptian woman. The OIN failed to provide clear, detailed reasoning why the Applicant did not meet the legal conditions to acquire subsidiary protection status in Hungary.

The Metropolitan Court of Public Administration and Labour granted subsidiary protection status to the Applicant and concluded that based on cumulative grounds the Applicant would be subject to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if she returned to Egypt.

Date of decision: 06-03-2015
Italy – Court of Cassation, Civil Division VI, 5 March 2015, n. 4522
Country of applicant: Liberia

When assessing an asylum application, a judge shall consider as relevant both the applicant’s homosexuality as well as the fact that homosexuality is considered a crime in the country of origin of the applicant. Moreover, the judge shall base its reasoning not only on the assessment of credibility of the applicant, but also on the actual situation in the country of origin, which has to be verified through its own power of investigation.

Date of decision: 05-03-2015
France - Council of State, 4 March 2015, M. A. against Préfet de la Haute-Garonne, No. 388180
Country of applicant: Guinea

The Applicant appealed a decision ordering his transfer to another Member State responsible for examining his application for international protection because the six-month period during which his transfer had to be carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) no. 604/2013 known as “Dublin III” (the “Dublin III Regulation”) had expired. 

The Council of State denied the appeal holding that the six-month period was interrupted by the legal action against the transfer measure but had not restarted because the appeal was still pending when the Préfet issued the Dublin III summons to the Applicant.

Date of decision: 04-03-2015
ECtHR- A.E. v. Greece ( Application no 46673/10), 27 February 2015
Country of applicant: Turkey

In this judgement, the Court held that there was a violation of article 3 of the Convention concerning the detention conditions of the applicant at the premises of the executive subcommittee of the Thessaloniki foreign police. There was also a violation of article 5 para 1 (f) concerning the duration of his detention and para 4 with regards to the judicial review of his detention. 

Date of decision: 27-02-2015
ECtHR - M.T. v. Sweden, Application no. 1412/12, 26 February 2015
Country of applicant: Kyrgyzstan

The Court found that there would be no violation of Article 3 in the event of return of the applicant, who suffered from chronic kidney failure and was in need of dialysis three times per week, to Kyrgyzstan.

Date of decision: 26-02-2015