The Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly agreed this week that the draft Protocol no. 15 to the European Convention on Human Rights could be adopted and opened for signature and ratification as presently drafted. The main features of this Protocol, which amends the Convention, are the following:
-The introduction, in the Preamble of the Convention, of a reference to the principle of subsidiarity and the doctrine of the margin of appreciation as developed in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.
The European Commission published recently a paper that gives an overview of the rights of victims of trafficking in human beings based on EU law, which should also help Member States develop a similar overviews at national level. The paper is accessible at the website of DG Home.
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common European Asylum System - Directive 2004/83/EC - Minimum standards for qualification for refugee status or subsidiary protection status - Article 4(1), second sentence - Cooperation of the Member State with the applicant to assess the relevant elements of his application - Scope - Lawfulness of the national procedure for processing an application for subsidiary protection following rejection of an application for refugee status - Observance of fundamental rights - Right to be heard)
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee announced on 17/04/2012 the launch of three updated and expanded editions of the Refugee Law Reader: the Sixth Edition in English, the Second Edition in French and the First Edition in Russian. These editions, together with the previously launched Second Edition in Spanish, provide a comprehensive online model curriculum for the study and implementation of the complex and rapidly evolving field of international asylum and refugee law.
The UK Supreme Court published on 25/07/2012 its judgment on the case of RT and Others v. the Secretary of State for the Home Department; KM, FC v. the Secretary of State for the Home Department. The first appeal concerns RT, SM and AM. They arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe at various times between 2001 and 2008 and have each claimed asylum here. Each of their claims was refused. RT, while credible, had never been politically active.
In May, the International Lesbian and Gay Association updated its world survey on laws criminalising and protecting same-sex relationships, entitled "State-Sponsored Homophobia". The report includes a short note arguing that the absence of criminalisation of homosexual activity does not demonstrate the absence of risk of persecution in a give country.
The applicant is an Albanian national who had been living without authorisation in Greece for ten years. In 2011, while he was still a minor, he was arrested and remanded in custody pending a decision on his expulsion. When this decision was taken, his detention was extended in order to prevent him from absconding. After spending a total of 14 days in detention, he was released upon an order of the administrative court of Athens. By the time of the judgment, the expulsion order had not been executed. Before the Court, Mr.
(Free movement of persons - Directive 2004/38/EC - Right of permanent residence - Article 16 - Legal residence - Residence based on Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68)
The European Court of Human Rights issued on 13 February an interim measure enjoining the return of a Somali family of asylum seekers from Germany to Italy. The family had first arrived in Italy and moved to Germany some months afterwards. The removal had been allowed by German courts, but the case was referred to the ECtHR, which has given the German Government until 6 March to provide information on the guarantees that it can obtain from the Italian Government to assure that the applicants will receive a sufficient level of protection in view of their particular family situation.
