France - Administrative Court, M., n° 1603217, 2 May 2016

The court noted that the facts relating to the time spent by the Applicant in Bulgaria were consistent with elements covered by reports and alerts published by the non-governmental organisations Pro Asyl, Amnesty International and Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. These reports and alerts relayed the violence committed during arrests, the deteriorated state of reception conditions for asylum applicants who were deprived of interpreters, medical help and frequently even food. They also reported the fact that the Bulgarian state had not distributed any financial support since March 2015.

The court further noted that the presumption that a Member State of the European Union participating in the implementation of the Dublin III Regulation meets its obligations under article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union can be rebutted in the event of systemic flaws in the asylum procedure and in the case of reception conditions for asylum applicants in that member state resulting in those applicants suffering inhuman or degrading treatment.

The court considered that, given the general state of reception conditions of asylum applicants in Bulgaria and the circumstances relating to the Applicant, in particular his physical vulnerability, the Applicant had established that there were substantial grounds for believing that if the Applicant were handed over to Bulgarian authorities, his asylum application would not be properly examined or he would be at risk of inhuman or degrading treatment contrary to article 4  of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and paragraph 2 of article 3 of the Dublin III Regulation.

The decision ordering the transfer of the Applicant to the Bulgarian authorities was illegal and was therefore to be annulled, and consequently the decision placing him in administrative detention for five days was to be annulled as well.