The applicant was detained by the Polish border control after crossing the border from Lithuania. According to the applicant, Belarussian border guards had ensured he would enter Poland directly from Belarus and be able to reach his final destination, Germany. However, the applicant was considered to have crossed the border illegally during a state of emergency, declared due to an influx of foreign nationals, and this was the basis of his detention in Lithuania. The applicant claimed to have submitted asylum applications (both verbally and in writing) to the Migration Department of Lithuania which have all been rejected. Furthermore, he appealed against the judgment of the District Court of Alytus which confirmed his detention until a decision would be adopted on his legal status.

The Supreme Administrative Court stayed the procedure and raised a preliminary question to the CJEU, asking whether such a regulation is compatible with the European Union law. The court asked the CJEU to interpret Article 7(1) of the recast Asylum Procedures Directive in relation to Article 4(1) of the recast Qualification Directive and Article 8(2) and (3) of the recast Reception Conditions Directive.