Venue:
The Law Societies Joint Brussels Office, Avenue des Nerviens 85
5th floor, 1040 Brussels
Timing:
12:30-14:30
Under the system of Regulation 343/2003/EC (commonly referred to as the
‘Dublin Regulation’) an asylum application must in principle be dealt
with by the country through which the person first entered the EU. This
has led to asymmetric migratory pressure on countries that have an
external Schengen land border, pressures that are becoming more acute in
light of the political situation in Northern Africa.
The extremely difficult situation of asylum seekers and persons
transferred under the Dublin system to Greece has been a cause of
concern in a number of EU Member States. The European Court of Human
Rights, in its ruling K.R.S. v. UK of 2 December 2008, considered that
persons transferred under the Dublin system from the UK to Greece could
not challenge the decision on the transfer in the UK. In its recent
judgment on M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece of 21 January 2011, however, it
held that it would violate the rights enshrined in the ECHR if a person
were transferred to Greece under the Dublin system. It also held that
judicial protection against the decision on the transfer in Belgium was
not sufficient.
This ERA briefing will present the main points of the judgment and
analyse how it will affect the future functioning of the Dublin system:
- Will the sovereignty clause of Article 3(2) of the Dublin
Regulation gain new prominence and what does that mean for the overall
functioning of the Dublin system?
- How will Member States’ authorities and courts evaluate whether
the situation in a particular Member State is particularly difficult for
asylum seekers?
- What remedies need to be put in place in all EU Member States for
persons due to be transferred back to their first country of entry?
Confirmed speakers:
Samuel Boutruche, Bureau for Europe, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Strasbourg
Isabel Casteleyn, Migration & Asylum Strategy Cell, Cabinet of Minister Melchior Wathelet, Brussels
Kris Pollet, Senior Legal and Policy Officer, ECRE, Brussels
Registration fee (including documentation and refreshments)
Standard: € 50
EU officials and members of the 'Friends of ERA' association: € 0