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11/11/2022
The UN Committee Against Torture ruled that Switzerland had violated its procedural obligations under article 3 of the Convention Against Torture by not conducting prompt, effective and impartial investigations and preventing access to an effective remedy.

ECLI
Input Provided By
EUAA Asylum Report
Other Source/Information
Type
Individual Complaints/Views
Original Documents
Relevant Legislative Provisions
EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU Charter); European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); UN International Covenants / UN Conventions
Reference
United Nations, Committee against Torture [CAT], B.T.M. v Switzerland, No 972/2019, 11 November 2022. 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=3240
Case history
Other information
Abstract

The UN Committee Against Torture ruled that Switzerland has violated its procedural obligations under article 3 of the Convention Against Torture:


- the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and the Federal Administrative Court (TAF), in both first and second instance procedures, have based their decisions to reject the application for international protection on claims that the applicant's testimony lacked credibility and that the authenticity of the documents he presented was doubtful, without however undertaking the necessary "prompt, effective and impartial" investigations to support their argument;


- the TAF, by refusing to give both appeals suspensory effect and rejecting the indigent applicant's requests for legal assistance and for advance court fees to be waived, deprived the applicant of an effective remedy.
Country of Decision
United Nations
Court Name
UN: Committee against Torture [CAT]
Case Number
No 972/2019
Date of Decision
11/11/2022
Country of Origin
Zimbabwe
Keywords
Effective remedy
First instance determination
Political opinion
Return/Removal/Deportation
Appeal / Second instance determination
Torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment