In proceedings for interim relief, the Regional Administrative Court of Hanover suspended the implementation of a Dublin transfer to Croatia due to serious indications of systemic deficiencies in the asylum and reception system in Croatia. The court also stated that violent pushbacks were allegedly happening for a long time at the border with Serbia and/or Bosnia-Herzegovina and to a considerable extent as to raise concerns on human rights violations, contrary to the Article 3 ECHR and 4 EU Charter.

The court reiterated that systemic deficiencies within the meaning of Article 3 (2) of the Dublin III Regulation can be presumed only when the asylum procedure or the reception conditions in the responsible Member State are so deficient due to major functional disruptions which may result into an assumption that an asylum applicant in a specific individual case would be at a considerable likelihood to be subject to inhuman or degrading treatment, contrary to Article 3 ECHR and Article 4 EU Charter.

The court concluded that there were serious legal reasons to allow the appeal since the applicant’s interest outweighs the public interest and calls for an immediate suspension of the enforcement of the Dublin transfer to Croatia.