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07/04/2020
NL: The Council of State rules on COVID-19 affecting the public pronouncement of court decisions in asylum cases

ECLI
ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:992
Input Provided By
EUAA Courts and Tribunals Network
Other Source/Information
Type
Judgment
Original Documents
Relevant Legislative Provisions
National law only (in case there is no reference to EU law/ECHR)
Reference
Netherlands, Council of State [Afdeling Bestuursrechtspraak van de Raad van State], Applicant v State Secretary for Justice and Security (Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid), 202002016/1/V3, ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:992 , 07 April 2020. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.
Permanent link to the case
https://caselaw.euaa.europa.eu/pages/viewcaselaw.aspx?CaseLawID=1249
Case history
Other information
Abstract

The case concerns the restrictions on public hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions imposed on 17 March 2020. The judiciary sought a temporary alternative to holding disclosure hearings in order to meet the requirement that judgments should be pronounced publicly. The applicant in this case contested the fact that the decision in his case was pronounced publicly (as stated on the decision). 


According to the contribution of the EASO Courts and Tribunals Network:


The Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State (Division) "finds that the (District) Courts may suspend the disclosure hearings, given the current circumstances. The Division considers that the publication of the full text of judgments on the Internet via www.rechtspraak.nl provides easy access to interested parties. As publication of all judgments is not yet possible due to limited capacity of the Court administration, an alternative is to make available to interested parties and free of charge an official record of the judgments made on the same day. Interested parties can then request a copy of a judgment. The Division accepts this alternative in the understanding that the courts try to publish as many judgments as possible. The Division rules that the combination of sending the judgement to the parties and providing an opportunity for interested other parties to become aware of the judgement via the internet or publication of official records is acceptable and does justice to the essence of the principle of public justice given the current very exceptional circumstances. The Division underlines that the adjusted court practice should be of a temporary nature."


Country of Decision
Netherlands
Court Name
NL: Council of State [Afdeling Bestuursrechtspraak van de Raad van State]
Case Number
202002016/1/V3
Date of Decision
07/04/2020
Country of Origin
Keywords
COVID-19/Emergency measures
Effective remedy
Second instance determination / Appeal