Latest asylum case law

Council of Europe

The ECtHR found violations of Articles 3 and 13 of the ECHR and Article 4 of Protocol No. 4, in a case of removal of applicants from Hungary to Serbia, ruling that collective expulsions and the “embassy procedure” denied the applicants an individual assessment and an effective access to the asylum procedure; it further noted, under Article 46 of the Convention, that Hungary must take measures to prevent further collective expulsions and ensure an effective access to the international protection procedure.

24/06/2025

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CoE: European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR]

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Judgment

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46084/21, 40185/22 and 53952/22

H.Q. and Z.A., two Afghan nationals, and A.S.A., a Syrian national are the applicants in this case, which concerned their removal, under section 5(1b) of the State Border Act, from Hungary to Serbia without examination of their individual circumstances. One of the applicants was removed when making a request for asylum following the expiry of his residence permit; the remaining two applicants, who had entered Hungary...

Council of Europe

The ECtHR dismissed as inadmissible complaints lodged by several applicants alleging 'refoulement by proxy' and extraterritorial jurisdiction of Italy over a rescue operation in the international waters of the central Mediterranean Sea.

20/05/2025

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CoE: European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR]

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Decision

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No 21660/18

According to the Press release of the ECtHR of 12 June 2025:

"Principal facts

The seventeen...

Netherlands

The District Court of the Hague, seated in Roermond, referred one question to the CJEU for preliminary ruling on whether the Minister must issue a return order, with written confirmation of the postponement of its implementation, when protection status is revoked based on an exclusion ground and return is not possible due to the non-refoulement principle.

12/03/2025

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NL: Court of The Hague [Rechtbank Den Haag]

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Referral for a preliminary ruling

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NL24.24991

Case registered before the CJEU under C-202/25 [Tadmur]

A Syrian applicant arrived in the Netherlands as a minor and was granted subsidiary protection on 7 January 2016. By decision of 1 February 2022, the applicant was sentenced to four...

Malta

The First Hall Civil Court found that the treatment of 9 migrants rescued at sea and subsequently held on private vessels whilst the ports were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, constituted degrading treatment under Article 3 of the ECHR due to the lack of space and poor sleeping and sanitary facilities on board the ships. Furthermore, it found a breach of their right to liberty enshrined in Article 5 of the ECHR due to their detention once brought to land, as the applicants were not given detention orders and informed about the reasons for their detainment.

10/04/2025

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MT: First Hall Civil Court

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Judgment

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645/2021

The First Hall Civil Court heard the case of 32 applicants from different countries who arrived in Malta, with many other people, on small boats from Libya during the months of April, May and June 2020. They were unable to continue their journey due to dangerous weather conditions, and whilst in the Search and Rescue zone of Malta, called for help. The Government of Malta, through the Office of the Prime Minister and...

European Union

The CJEU ruled that Article 3 of the recast QD precludes national legislation which provides for the grant of subsidiary protection to a third-country national who, upon removal to the country of origin, would face a real risk of suffering a breach of private life due to the severing of links with the Member State examining the application for international protection.

05/06/2025

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EU: Court of Justice of the European Union [CJEU]

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Judgment

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C-349/24

A.B., a third-country national, arrived in the Czech Republic in July 2006 and his stay was legal until the Czech authorities rejected the extension of his residence permit. He lodged an application for international protection in April 2019, which was rejected in February 2020 by the Ministry of the Interior. By judgment of 17 June 2021 of the Regional Court of Prague, the decision of the Ministry was annulled...

Germany

The Regional Administrative Court of Ansbach rejected the application for international protection made by a Ukrainian national, finding that the domestic issues with her ex-husband did not meet the threshold of an act of persecution and that she did not meet the requirements for subsidiary protection since internal flight alternatives were available in central and western Ukraine.

30/04/2025

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DE: Regional Administrative Court [Verwaltungsgericht]

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Judgment

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AN 4 K 24.32419

A Ukrainian national requested international protection in Germany on 8 March 2023, claiming that she feared returning to and residing in Ukraine. She stated that her apartment had been destroyed during the war and that employment opportunities were no longer available in the country. She further claimed that she experienced domestic violence and issues with her ex-husband, who had physically assaulted her on one...

Netherlands

The District Court of the Hague, seated in Roermond, referred two questions before the CJEU regarding the scope of a judicial review against a detention measure and the possibility for the judge to verify, ex officio, compliance with the principle of non-refoulement and respect of interests provided for under Article 5 of the Return Directive as well as with the EU Charter.

06/05/2025

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NL: Court of The Hague [Rechtbank Den Haag]

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Referral for a preliminary ruling

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NL25.17803

Case registered before the CJEU under C-313/25 PPU [Adrar]

An Algerian national applied for international protection in the Netherlands on 11 September 2024, but because the applicant did not present himself for the personal...

Netherlands

The District Court of the Hague, seated in Zwolle, referred several questions to the CJEU for preliminary ruling on whether a court deciding on a first appeal has the power to assess the credibility of the grounds for international protection based on the files available and make a substantive and final ruling on the application, especially when it has publicly available country of origin information which it considers sufficient in the case.

11/03/2025

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NL: Court of The Hague [Rechtbank Den Haag]

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Referral for a preliminary ruling

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NL24.1518

Case registered before the CJEU under C-198/25 [Quetta]

S., a Pakistani national applied for international protection in the Netherlands, and claimed to be at risk of persecution upon return to Pakistan because: i) his...

Belgium

The CALL ruled that there were insufficient grounds to consider that the applicant, a Kurdish PKK supporter, constituted a danger to national security. It emphasised that a high level of danger to the state’s constitutional order or security had not been demonstrated and annulled the decision to withdraw the applicant’s refugee status.

26/02/2025

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BE: Council for Alien Law Litigation [Conseil du Contentieux des Étrangers - CALL]

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Judgment

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No 322 508

On 11 February 2014 a Turkish national, of Kurdish ethnicity and Muslim religion, was granted refugee status due to his fear of political persecution for his support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

On 29 March 2021, the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) received information from the State Security regarding the continued participation of the applicant in the...

Netherlands

The District Court of the Hague, seated in Amsterdam, referred questions to the CJEU for interpretation of the Return Directive on criteria to determine whether a detention facility can be classified as ‘specialised’, the limitations that can be imposed to a detainee and the scope of judicial review against such detention measure and detention conditions.

20/03/2025

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NL: Court of The Hague [Rechtbank Den Haag]

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Referral for a preliminary ruling

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NL25.8606

Case registered before the CJEU under C-218/25 [Wompou]

The applicant complained before the District Court of the Hague, seated in Amsterdam, against a custodial measure imposed on him and his placement in the Justitieel...