The applicant is an Afghan national who submitted an application for international protection in Austria on 25 August 2020. The Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum issued a decision on 6 November 2020 according to which the applicant was refused international protection and issued a return order with a deadline of two weeks for voluntary return. This decision was upheld by the Federal Administrative Court on 12 October 2021.

The applicant appealed the decision issued by the Federal Administrative Court to the Constitutional Court claiming that his constitutional right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture and other inhumane or degrading treatment would be violated in the case of being returned to Afghanistan.

The Constitutional Court noted that in a policy brief issued by the State on 19 July 2021, it was stated that it should be assumed that the security situation was extremely volatile in Afghanistan and that returnees would be exposed to a real risk of treatment which would breach Articles 2 and 3 ECHR if returned. The court noted that this brief had been available to the Federal Administrative Court at the time of its decision, however, the Federal Administrative Court had not taken it into consideration. The Federal Administrative Court had instead relied on media reports which focused on individual security threats such as the risk of a terrorist attack by the Islamic State. The Constitutional Court also noted that the Federal Administrative Court had not adequately analysed the information provided in the reports it cited. In particular, the Constitutional Court noted that the Federal Administrative Court had not referred to arbitrary controls and punishments such as targeted executions, even though information could be found in the cited country of origin reports.

The Constitutional Court also disputed the Federal Administrative Courts interpretation of information concerning the supply chain in Afghanistan. The Constitutional Court noted that the UNHCR report, that the Federal Administrative Courts cited in order to conclude that supply chains to Afghanistan were adequate, predicted that almost 50% of Afghans would be dependent on humanitarian aid to survive during winter 2021.

The Constitutional Court concluded that the decision to return the applicant breached the constitutional rights to life and to not be subjected to torture or other inhumane and degrading treatment. The Constitutional Court therefore set aside the decision of the Federal Administrative Court.