Case summaries

In the present case certain formal conditions for dismissing the application through an accelerated procedure as defined in Article 54 of International Protection Act (ZMZ) were not taken into account. The Ministry of the Internal (MI) did not take a stance as regards the circumstances that the Applicant claimed as the grounds for leaving his country of origin and applying for international protection.

The case refers to an appeal to the Supreme Court brought by the Appellant against the High National Court’s judgment to uphold the Ministry of the Interior's decision to deny asylum. The Appellant is of Sahrawi origin. In the application he claims that one day the Moroccan police forces began to dismantle the Gdeim Izik (El Aaiun) camp, where the Applicant was living, violently suppressing the Sahrawi people who were there.

The appeal progressed because the denial was agreed via an accelerated procedure – similar to a “dismissal” – using Article 21.2o of Act 12/2009 (when someone alleges contradictory, implausible or insufficient infomation, or information that contradicts verified knowledge about the country of origin, clearly showing that their application is unfounded).

 The Supreme Court maintained that although this is classed as a “refusal” (“denegación”), in actual fact it has the scant guarantees of “inadmissibility”:  the application was rejected without having been fully analysed by the Interministerial Asylum and Refugee Commission or via an urgent procedure.

The judgment recognised the refugee status of a Guinean Applicant who had been the victim of a forced marriage and domestic violence. Various elements, in particular psychological evidence, explained lack of precision in her account.

An applicant of Palestinian origin was granted refugee status.  UNWRA assistance ceased for reasons beyond the applicant’s control, and therefore the applicant is entitled ipso facto to the benefits provided by the Convention. Consequently, refugee status must be granted automatically. 

Granting subsidiary protection is not dependent on the personal situation of the Applicant and relates to a generalised situation of serious risk in the country of origin, a situation that could commence even after the Applicant has left his country of origin. In the case in point, the indiscriminate violence throughout Nigeria fulfils the conditions required for granting subsidiary protection.

Regardless of the parallel extradition proceedings, the Ministry of the Interior is obliged within the proceedings to assess the consequences of prosecution of the Applicant for a criminal offence in the country of origin in the context of fulfilling the conditions for international protection. In case of fear of action by private persons, the possibility and effectiveness of protection provided by the state against such actions is to be assessed.

There has been a violation of Article 47 (2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union if there is a failure to hold a hearing at the Asylum Court, notwithstanding that the facts of the case are not sufficiently clear. Merely general statements without reference to the case in point do not represent sufficient grounds for the lack of credibility of the submission.

This was a judgment on the cassation appeal against the judgment of the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw of 13 September 2006 (case ref. V SA/Wa 82/06) on dismissal of the appeal against the decision of the Polish Refugee Board on refusal to accord refugee status and grant a permit for tolerated stay.

Members of a refugee’s family may constitute a particular social group within the meaning of Article 1A(2) of the Geneva Convention, and the fact of being related to a refugee may also give rise to a risk of persecution that justifies according refugee status to a foreigner.

The Applicant, an unaccompanied Afghan minor, stated that he had left his home country owing to his abduction and the threat of sexual abuse by the local ruler. The right to a decision by the statutory judge was violated by the fact that the decision on the application for international protection was made by a court panel consisting of two judges, one male and one female.

It is the duty of the Applicant to show that he has been persecuted or is at serious risk of persecution. He should describe that persecution and present it to the fullest extent possible, showing how it relates to him in particular. Lack of acceptance by one’s family, social ostracism, and the negative perception of people of a different sexual orientation do not constitute grounds for according refugee status. However, given that the foreigner’s illness (AIDS) is at a very advanced stage and that he is undergoing treatment for epilepsy, it is necessary to consider whether deportation to his country of origin would violate his right to life.