An applicant from Transnistria, with Moldovan nationality, who applied for international protection in Czechia, stated at the end of the interview, when asked by the case officer, that he would waive the right to comment on the country of origin (COI) documents which would be used in the case file as evidence, noting that he knew the situation in Moldova and Transnistria. The ministry collected ten documents with COI, which were not commented on by the applicant. By decision of 3 January 2023, the applicant was not granted international protection.

The applicant challenged the practice of the Ministry of the Interior of asking applicants, before collecting COI documents for the decision, whether they waive the right to comment on these documents.

The Regional Court of Brno summarised the general principles applicable in this case, noting that the effective waiver of the right to comment, according to § 36, paragraph 3 of the Administrative Code can occur in the procedure for an application for international protection: (1) only after the applicant has been invited to familiarize himself/herself with the documents collected, if (2) the ministry properly instructs the applicant about the consequences of such a waiver, so that the applicant can take this decision to waive the right in an informed and responsible manner, knowing all the consequences.

The court considered that in this case none of the above-mentioned conditions were respected. The question asked at the end of the interview was premature considering that none of the COI documents were collected at that time. Furthermore, the court noted that the ministry did not explain to the applicant the consequences and meaning of the waiver, in order to allow him to give an informed consent.

The court annulled the decision of the Ministry and returned the case for further examination.