Greece - Piraeus Administrative Court of Appeal N69/2019, 15 May 2019
Country of Decision:
Country of Applicant:
Date of Decision:
15-05-2019
Citation:
Piraeus Administrative Court of Appeal, N69/2019, 15 May 2019
Court Name:
Piraeus Administrative Court of Appeal
Keywords:
Relevant Legislative Provisions:
European Union Law > EN - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
European Union Law > EN - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union > Article 4
European Union Law > EN - Dublin III Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013 (recast Dublin II Regulation) > Article 3
European Union Law > EN - Dublin III Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013 (recast Dublin II Regulation) > Article 18
European Union Law > EN - Dublin III Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013 (recast Dublin II Regulation) > Article 27
European Union Law > EN - Dublin III Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013 (recast Dublin II Regulation) > Article 29
European Union Law > EN - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union > Article 4
European Union Law > EN - Dublin III Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013 (recast Dublin II Regulation) > Article 3
European Union Law > EN - Dublin III Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013 (recast Dublin II Regulation) > Article 18
European Union Law > EN - Dublin III Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013 (recast Dublin II Regulation) > Article 27
European Union Law > EN - Dublin III Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013 (recast Dublin II Regulation) > Article 29
National / Other Legislative Provisions:
Article 52 of Presidential Decree 18/1989 (Government Gazette A 8)
as amended by Article 35 of Law 2721/1999 (Government Gazette A 112) and is applicable in accordance with article 4 (1) Law 702/1977 (Government Gazette A 268)
Article 29 (2)
(6) Law 4540/2018
Article 15(5) Law 3068/2002
Article 54 of Law 4375/2016 (Government Gazette 51A `)
as amended by Article 35 of Law 2721/1999 (Government Gazette A 112) and is applicable in accordance with article 4 (1) Law 702/1977 (Government Gazette A 268)
Article 29 (2)
(6) Law 4540/2018
Article 15(5) Law 3068/2002
Article 54 of Law 4375/2016 (Government Gazette 51A `)
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PDF version of Summary
Headnote:
The transfer of a family to the previous country of entry (Bulgaria), which might entail the risk of refoulement to the country of origin (Afghanistan), would cause an irreversible and serious harm; it ordered the suspension of the transfer decision until the final decision, on the annulment of the rejection of the application on the refugee status, was issued.
Facts:
On 19/10/2017 the applicant and his wife filed a request for international protection ,. The applicant and his family were nationals of Afghanistan. The father argued that he left his country of origin because he was in danger of being prosecuted due to his political beliefs.
On 7/11/2017 the Greek administrative authorities contacted the Bulgarian authorities, as the applicants had previously filed an application for international protection there. Therefore, their applications for asylum were rejected as inadmissible under Article 54 (1) (b) of Law 4375/2016, due to Bulgaria’s responsibility to examine their application. . The same decision referred to the transfer of the applicants and their minor children to Bulgaria, in accordance with article 29 (1) of Regulation 604/2013 / EU.
The applicants unsuccessfully appealed against the above decision on 23.4.2018, claiming that they did not wish to go to Bulgaria, because there is no guarantee they will have access to the asylum procedure or that they will be exposed to extremely difficult reception conditions, which is what they were subjected to during their previous stay there. However, tt was decided that there are no reasonable grounds to consider that there are systemic deficiencies in the asylum procedure and the conditions of reception in Bulgaria.
The applicants filed an application for annulment against the above decision submitted a request for suspension of their transfer to Bulgaria until the annulment decision was issued,. The applicants claimed that, if the contested decision were not suspended, they would suffer irreparable harm as their return to Bulgaria, would entail the risk of being repatriated to Afghanistan.
Decision & Reasoning:
The Court accepted the request for suspension of the enforcement of the transfer to Bulgaria until the issuance of the final decision.
The Court based its decision on the fact that the grounds for annulment require a thorough investigation, the applicants have three minor children, and there is a risk of chain refoulement from Bulgaria to Afghanistan. In addition, the Court noted that they do not pose any threat to public order and security in the country.
Outcome:
Suspends the execution of the 26510 / 26.11.2018 decision of the 4th Independent Committee for Refugees and the transfer of the applicants to Bulgaria until a final decision on the application for annulment isissued.
Subsequent Proceedings :
The decision on the main application is not known.
Observations/Comments:
The summary was completed by Danai Spentzou, LLM student at Queen Mary University of London. This decision was first uploaded on the website of the Greek Council for Refugees.
