15 December 2013
New CJEU Judgment on the Scope for Asylum Applicants to Challenge their Dublin Transfer
On 10 December 2013, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issued a judgment in Case C 394/12. It held that the opportunities for an asylum seeker to challenge a decision to transfer him/her under the Dublin II Regulation are limited once a member state has agreed to take charge of the examination of his/her application. This decision can only be overturned when there are systemic deficiencies in the asylum procedure and reception conditions of that member state.
The case concerned a Somali national, Ms. Abdullahi, who entered Greece irregularly by boat. She travelled to Austria via the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary. The Austrian authorities requested Hungary to take charge of her under the Dublin II Regulation, and Hungary accepted. Ms. Abdullahi appealed the transfer request and a dispute arose as to whether Greece or Hungary was responsible for examining the asylum claim in light of Article 10(1) of the Dublin II Regulation. The Austrian court asked the CJEU to clarify the procedure for determining responsibility.