The case concerned a claim from the Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland (Dutch Council for Refugees, VWN) which requested the State and the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers, COA) to provide reception conditions for asylum applicants in line with the standards established by EU law. The VWN underlined that the current reception in and around Ter Apel and in (crisis) emergency reception locations does not meet those standards in parts. According to the VWN, thousands of asylum seekers and status holders (adults and children) were and are staying in emergency reception and crisis emergency reception locations in the Netherlands. These locations have been set up because the regular reception locations for asylum seekers are fully occupied. In addition, there is insufficient reception capacity available for third country nationals who want to register at the application centre in Ter Apel. The VWN considers that this situation violates various human rights, including the right to human dignity and the rights of the child. The VWN demanded that the reception facilities for asylum seekers in the Netherlands are brought into full compliance with the national and international requirements as soon as possible. The VWN also claimed that there is unjustified unequal treatment of displaced persons from Ukraine compared to other asylum seekers.

The Court of the Hague reiterated the standards and rights under international, European and national minimum standards, as laid down in the Reception Directive, the EASO Guidance on Reception Conditions: Operational Standards and Indicators of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the EU Charter, the ECHR, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UCRC). It made a thorough analysis of the situation in the reception centers, especially in emergency centres and ordered the State and COA to ensure that the reception conditions meet these standards. The court of the Hague ordered that some standards must be met immediately and others in the shortest possible reasonable time.

With regard to unequal standards for asylum seekers compared with Ukrainian displaced persons, the Court of the Hague dismissed the claim as unfounded.

The Court of the Hague ordered the State and the COA as follows:

• “to design the reception facilities for asylum seekers, who are currently staying in emergency reception locations and crisis emergency reception locations, in such a way that:
• not later than nine months after the date of this judgment, accommodation is provided, consisting of one bedroom per family or for a maximum of six persons of the same sex, consisting of four walls, a ceiling, a door that can be locked, a window that can be are opened and a minimum of 4 m² sleeping space per person; b.no later than nine months after the date of this judgment, housing is provided with a sufficient, adequate and functioning sanitary infrastructure, which means at least i) access to a shower/bath, a washbasin with hot and cold water and a working toilet, ii) per ten asylum seekers at least one working and lockable toilet that is accessible day and night, iii) per twelve asylum seekers there is at least one working shower/bath with hot and cold water that is accessible for at least eight hours a day and iv) cleaning of common areas, where a cleaning schedule may be drawn up;
• immediate access to drinking water is provided day and night;
• immediate access is provided to sufficient and suitable food, which means that i) adults receive a meal or snack at least three times a day and minors five times a day, including at least one hot meal and ii) reasonable account is taken of the dietary preferences and dietary requirements of specific groups;
• a weekly financial allowance in accordance with Article 14 Rva 2005 is provided to asylum seekers in crisis emergency reception locations no later than four weeks after the date of this judgment;
• no later than four weeks after the date of this judgment, minor children are given access to play facilities (safe indoor play area and an open-air play area, which may be in the building or location itself, or near the building in a public area) and education, which must be offered to minor children no later than three months from the date on which they applied for asylum;
• immediate access is provided to any form of necessary health care, which includes at least emergency treatment and the essential treatment of diseases and serious mental disorders;
• vulnerable asylum applicants are prohibited from being accommodated in crisis emergency centres, according to the EASO Guide, and prohibits the State and COA from placing vulnerable asylum seekers in an emergency reception location with effect from four weeks after the date of this judgment, unless their specific special reception needs can be met in that location;
• the State and the COA prohibit, with effect from two weeks after the date of this judgment, i) allowing an unaccompanied minor to stay longer than five days in the pass for unaccompanied minors in Ter Apel and ii) more than 55 unaccompanied minors simultaneously in the pass for unaccompanied minors in Ter Apel to have them stay at Ter Apel;
• ordered the State and the COA to realize extra reception for unaccompanied minors, expressly including the unaccompanied minors currently residing in Ter Apel, within two weeks of the date of this judgment, which complies with the requirements laid down by the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate and the Inspectorate Justice and Security requirements;
• ordered the State and the COA to medically screen asylum seekers with effect from two weeks after the date of this judgment before they are placed in a crisis emergency reception location;
• the State and the COA immediately condemn any foreign national who reports to the AC in Ter Apel or to any other AC in the Netherlands to register as an asylum seeker, to provide them with a safe covered sleeping place, food, water and access to hygienic sanitary facilities.”