Belgium: Council for Alien Law Litigation rules that Dublin transfers to Greece require a case by case analysis

Date: 
Friday, June 8, 2018

On 8 June 2018, the Belgian Council for Alien Law Litigation (CALLL) ruled on case no. 205104, which concerned an appeal against a Dublin transfer from Belgium to Greece of an applicant from Palestine. The applicant arrived and lodged an asylum application in Belgium in October 2017. Since he was in possession of a valid visa delivered by Greece, Belgium sent a “take charge” request to Greece on the application of the Dublin III Regulation. The applicant appealed against this decision before the CALL based on, inter alia, the alleged existence of systematic deficiencies in the asylum and reception systems in Greece.

The CALL recognised that there are still deficiencies in the asylum procedure and reception conditions in Greece. However, it found that there are no longer systematic deficiencies that would prevent all Dublin transfers to Greece. With reference to the December 2016 Recommendation of the European Commission on the resumption of transfers to Greece, the CALL found that Dublin transfers to Greece can be carried out subject to a case by case analysis. It also pointed to that Recommendation in that “vulnerable asylum applicants, including unaccompanied minors, should not be transferred to Greece”.

In the case in question, the CALL noted that the applicant had no particular vulnerability and that the Greek authorities had provided their Belgian counterparts with individualised guarantees with regard to the applicant’s access to the asylum procedure in Greece and his reception in an official and open reception centre.

Based on an unofficial translation by the ELENA Weekly Legal Update.

 


This item was reproduced with the permission of ECRE from the weekly ELENA 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 published but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by ECRE.                                                      

 

Keywords: 
Dublin Transfer
Individual assessment
Material reception conditions
Reception conditions
Request to take back