Case summaries

WA (Pakistan) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department, 2019
Country of applicant: Pakistan
This case dealt with the issue of the whether the guidance of MN and others Pakistan CG [2012] was still accurate in terms of asylum protection due to failing to ask the question of why an individual would act in a discreet way in their country of origin. This question draws the distinction between concealment of faith due to fear of persecution or simply due to social norms or personal preference.
 
WA sought to challenge the correctness of the guidance in MN and others Pakistan CG [2012] in that it failed to properly reflect the judgement of HJ (Iran) test of asking why an individual would act in a particular way to avoid persecutory harm in their country of origin. The unanimous judgement allowed the appeal and remitted the case back for a hearing. 
 
Date of decision: 06-03-2019
Switzerland - Federal Administrative Court, A. (Eritrea) v. Secretary of State for Migration (SSM), March 4th 2019, E-7333/2018
Country of applicant: Eritrea

When deciding upon an asylum applicant’s age, authorities should assess the evidence in a holistic way, and not rely solely on medical examinations of the applicant. If, in the absence of sufficient evidence, authorities conclude that the applicant is an adult, they need to justify their decision by reference to the grounds for its conclusion.

Date of decision: 04-03-2019
R (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, 2019
Country of applicant: United Kingdom

The High Court granted an order under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 that the scheme of “Right to Rent” set out in sections 20-37 of the Immigration Act 2014 was incompatible with ECHR rights, along with a further order that it could not be extended beyond England without a further evaluation. 

Date of decision: 01-03-2019
ECtHR - Khan v. France (no. 12267/16), 28 February 2019
Country of applicant: Afghanistan

The precarious living conditions in Calais and the failure of the French authorities to comply with judicial orders to protect the applicant, in view of his personal circumstances and young age, reach the threshold for a breach of Article 3.

Date of decision: 28-02-2019
France - Administrative Tribunal of Paris, Urgent Applications Judge, February 13th 2019 Decree, N° 1902037/9
Country of applicant: Unknown

The difficulties in access to the regional telephone operating centers set up by the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII) in order to obtain an appointment to register asylum applications leads to legal uncertainty for asylum seekers. This legal uncertainty violates their constitutional right to asylum, and therefore creates an emergency situation on which the Urgent Applications Judge can adjudicate.

Date of decision: 13-02-2019
Cyprus - Supreme Court, Application 1/2019, 24 January 2019
Country of applicant: Georgia

Delays in the asylum procedure which cannot be imputed to the asylum seeker, and failure to consider less coercive alternatives when detention exceeds reasonable time limits, render detention unlawful.

Date of decision: 24-01-2019
CJEU - C-661/17 M.A & others, 23 January 2019

The notification about the intention of withdrawal from the EU by the Member-State responsible for the examination of the application for international protection does not trigger the determining Member-State’s obligation to make use of the discretionary clause of Article 17(1) 604/2013 EU. Similarly, Article 6 (1) cannot be interpreted as imposing an obligation on the Member State that is not responsible to take into account the best interests of the child and to examine the application itself under 17 (1)

Date of decision: 23-01-2019
Italy: Court of Appeal of Brescia, 18 January 2019, No. 96/2019
Country of applicant: Italy

The case deals with a controversy, in which E.F. attributed profit making and trafficking activities to some specific NGOs working in the field of migrant accommodation through a public Facebook post. The Facebook post was regarded as hostile and discriminatory towards the organisations working in the field and towards asylum seekers.

Date of decision: 18-01-2019
France – Court of Appeal of Lyon, 15 January 2019, n° 19/00253
Country of applicant: Algeria

The Judge of the liberty and detention of the Lyon Court of Appeal released the applicant based on the unavailability of the necessary medical care needed in his country of return.

Date of decision: 15-01-2019
Germany – Administrative Court Regensburg, Order of 9 January 2019 – RN 6 S 18.50495
Country of applicant: Sierra Leone

The extension of the transfer period in accordance with Art. 29 para. 2 sentence 2 Dublin Regulation (EU) No. 604/2013 (Dublin III Regulation) requires that the asylum applicant absconds, which has to be proven by the transferring authority.

Absconding is only the case, if the asylum applicant cannot be reached by the competent authorities for an (undefined) longer period of time. The intention to evade the authorities does not have to be proven. The circumstances of the individual case are decisive.

Date of decision: 09-01-2019