Case summaries

  • My search
  • Relevant International and European Legislation
    1
Esc Del
Esc Del
Esc Del
Esc Del
Esc Del
Esc Del
Reset
Slovenia - Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia,14 January 2015, Judgment U-I-309/13, Up-981/13,
Country of applicant: Somalia
Keywords: Best interest of the child, Family unity (right to), Dependant (Dependent person), Family member, Family reunification, Sponsor

The State is obliged to adopt legislation which allows the refugee to actually exercise the right to respect for family life in its territory. Under Article 53(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia the scope of family life firstly includes the nuclear family and secondly, where specific factual circumstances dictate, members of the family who are not nuclear but who are similar or perform the same function.

The legislator limited the right to family reunification by enacting an exhaustive definition of eligible family members for reunification, excluding any other form of family unity.  According to the Constitutional Court, the legislator disproportionately restricted the right of refugees to respect for family life and violated the right of the appellant under the Article 53(3) of the Constitution.

Date of decision: 14-01-2015
Relevant International and European Legislation: European Union Law,EN - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,Article 7,Article 52,Article 53,EN - Family Reunification Directive, Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003,Recital (2),Recital (4),Recital (8),Recital (9),Recital (10),Article 4,1.,2.,3.,Article 5,Article 10,1.,2.,3.,Article 16,EN - Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,Article 8,EN - Recast Qualification Directive, Directive 2011/95/EU of 13 December 2011,Recital (19),Article 23,UN Convention on the Rights of the Child