Sweden: Request for Sweden to take over responsibility of asylum application from Greece cannot be appealed

Date: 
Thursday, March 26, 2020

On 26 February 2020, the Migration Court published its judgment in case ME 2020: 4 concerning the right to an effective remedy under Article 27(1) Dublin III Regulation when a State refuses to accept responsibility for an asylum application.

The applicant, after making an asylum application in Greece in 2017, notified the authorities that his wife was already a beneficiary of international protection in Sweden. His request that Sweden take responsibility for his asylum application pursuant to Article 9 Dublin III as a family member of a beneficiary of international protection was refused by the Migration Board. The applicant argued, inter alia, that family unity must be given a high priority. The Stockholm Administrative Court rejected his appeal on the grounds that, inter alia, Article 27(1) Dublin III grants the right to an effective remedy only in circumstances involving a transfer decision. It added that while the applicant does not have the right to review the decision, they are not deprived of the opportunity to apply for family reunification.

On appeal, the Migration Court noted, indeed, that Article 27(1) expressly provides asylum applicants the right to an effective remedy in the event of a transfer decision. It added that a decision made by a competent authority in a Member State which refuses to take responsibility for an asylum application of a family member who has obtained international protection in another EU State cannot be considered equivalent to a transfer decision. Moreover, the Court noted that a decision not to agree to take responsibility for an asylum seeker affects the Member States involved more so than the individual directly. The Migration Court therefore ruled that it was not necessary to seek a preliminary ruling from the CJEU and held that the decision rejecting the applicant’s request was not open to appeal. 

Based on an unofficial translation by the EWLU team.


This item was reproduced with the permission of ECRE from the ELENA Weekly Legal Update. The purpose of these updates is to inform asylum lawyers and legal organizations supporting asylum seekers and refugees of recent developments in the field of asylum law. Please note that the information provided is taken from publicly available information on the internet. Every reasonable effort is made to make the content accurate and up to date at the time each item is pusexblished but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by ECRE.                                                

                                                     

 

Keywords: 
Dublin Transfer
Effective remedy (right to)
Family member
Responsibility for examining application