Date of the decision: December 21, 2011
Jurisdiction: Court of Justice of the European Union
Country: United Kingdom and Ireland
Subject: European Union law - Principles - Fundamental rights - Implementation of European Union law - Prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment - Common European Asylum System - Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 - Concept of ‘safe countries’ - Transfer of an asylum seeker to the Member State responsible - Obligation - Rebuttable presumption of compliance, by that Member State, with fundamental rights.
Legal basis: This case concerned the concept of ‘safe country’ within the Dublin system and respect for fundamental rights of asylum seekers. The Court held that EU law prevents the application of a conclusive presumption that Member States observe all the fundamental rights of the European Union. Article 4 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights must be interpreted as meaning that the Member States may not transfer an asylum seeker to the Member State responsible within the meaning of the Regulation where they cannot be unaware that systemic deficiencies in the asylum procedure and in the reception conditions of asylum seekers in that Member State amount to substantial grounds for believing that the asylum seeker would face a real risk of being subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment within the meaning of the provision. Once it is impossible to transfer the asylum seeker to the responsible Member State then subject to the sovereignty clause the State can check if another Member State is responsible by examining further criteria under the Regulation. This should not take an unreasonable amount of time and if necessary then the Member State concerned must examine the asylum application.
To learn more: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62010CJ0411
