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CJEU – C-635/17, E. v Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie
Country of applicant: Eritrea
Keywords: Best interest of the child, Family unity (right to), Family reunification

Article 11(2) of Directive 2003/86 must be interpreted as precluding the rejection of an application for family reunification lodged by a sponsor in favour of a minor of whom she is allegedly the guardian solely on the grounds of lack of official documentary evidence of the family relationship and the sponsor’s inability to explain the absence of such evidence being deemed implausible on the basis of general country of origin information.

Authorities have to take into consideration the specific circumstances of the sponsor and the minor, including the difficulties they faced during and after their flight from their country.

 

Date of decision: 13-03-2019
Relevant International and European Legislation: Article 7,Article 24,Art 24.2,Recital (8),Article 2,Article 3,Article 4,Article 5,Article 10,Article 11,Article 16,Article 17
Portugal - Central Administrative Court South, Case No 12826/15
Country of applicant: Iraq

The concept of family life under Article 8 ECHR and under the Portuguese Constitution requires the existence of an effective connection between the individuals, which also presupposes the existence of a financial interdependency.

Date of decision: 10-03-2016
Relevant International and European Legislation: Article 7,Article 15,Article 33,EN - Family Reunification Directive, Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003,Article 2,Article 4,Article 9,Article 16,Article 8
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
Ireland – High Court, 29 December 2011, R.A. v Minister for Justice and Equality, Garda National Immigration Bureau, Ireland and Attorney General [2011] IEHC 512
Country of applicant: Pakistan
Keywords: Effective access to procedures, Delay, Subsequent application, Responsibility for examining application, Request that charge be taken, Dublin Transfer

The applicant sought to rely on her Islamic proxy marriage to her husband, a recognised refugee in Ireland, to resist removal to the UK under the Dublin Regulations. Her application for judicial review failed as she was held to have forfeited her right under Article 7 of the Dublin II Regulation due to delay on her part in asserting that right.

Date of decision: 29-12-2011
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,Article 1,EN - Family Reunification Directive, Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003,Recital (4),Recital (17),1.,3.,Article 5,1.,EN - Dublin II Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 of 18 February 2003,(i),Article 5,Article 7,Article 9
CJEU - C‑540/03, European Parliament v Council of the European Union
Keywords: Best interest of the child, Family reunification, Integration measures

The European Parliament sought the annulment of Article 4(1), Article 4(6) and Article 8 of the Family Reunification Directive, as being incompatible with the right to respect for family life and non-discrimination based on age.

The Court found that these provisions created a limited margin of appreciation for Member States which was no greater than that allowed for in ECtHR case law, and could be exercised compatibly with fundamental rights.

Date of decision: 27-06-2006
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,Article 7,Article 21,Article 24,EN - Family Reunification Directive, Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003,Article 3,Article 4,Article 5,Article 8,Article 16,Article 17,Article 18,Article 8,UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,EN - Treaty on European Union,Article 6