Case summaries
The return of a survivor of trafficking and gender-based violence to the country of original harm under the Dublin III Regulation violates Articles 2(d) and 6 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, unless the state conducts an individualized, trauma-informed, and gender-sensitive assessment of the real risk of retraumatization.
Relying on general assumptions about adequate reception conditions in the receiving state is insufficient where capacity gaps in specialized psychological care exist. The non-refoulement obligation requires assessing real, personal, and foreseeable risks of gender-based violence, including from non-state actors, and prohibits removal where formal legal protections cannot guarantee safety given the individual's extreme vulnerability.
The Council of State concludes that the Legislative Decree 113/2018 (also referred to as ‘Salvini Decree’) that reorganises the Italian reception facilities for asylum seekers does not affect the principle of mutual trust between EU member states underpinning the Dublin Regulation. The expected limits on access to adequate reception centres, specifically for vulnerable persons, does not amount to systemic flaws in the sense of Article 3 of the Dublin Regulation.
The Council of State concludes that the Legislative Decree 113/2018 (also referred to as ‘Salvini Decree’) that reorganises the Italian reception facilities for asylum seekers does not affect the principle of mutual trust between EU member states underpinning the Dublin Regulation. The expected limits on access to adequate reception centres, specifically for vulnerable persons, does not amount to systemic flaws in the sense of Article 3 of the Dublin Regulation.
Even where there are no substantial grounds for believing that there are systemic flaws in the Member State responsible, a Dublin transfer can only be carried out in conditions which exclude the possibility that that transfer might result in a real and proven risk of the person concerned suffering inhuman or degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 4 CFR EU.
If there is a real and proven risk that the state of health of an applicant who suffers from a serious mental or physical illness would significantly and permanently deteriorate, that transfer would constitute a violation of Article 4 CFR EU.
It is for the courts and authorities of the requesting Member State to eliminate any serious doubts concerning the impact of the transfer on the health of the person concerned by taking all necessary precaution. If the taking of precautions is not sufficient, it is for the authorities of the Member State concerned to suspend the execution of the transfer for as long as the applicant’s conditions render him unfit for transfer.
Member States may choose to conduct its own examination of that person’s application by making use of the “discretionary clause” laid down in Article 17(1) DRIII, but is not required to do so.