The case concerned a Georgian applicant who challenged a transfer from Ireland to France under the Dublin III Regulation. The applicant had previously made an unsuccessful application for international protection in France. The applicant appealed against the decision on the Dublin transfer to the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT).

In the appeal, the applicant presented to the tribunal a medical report which supported a history of torture in Georgia and revealed that the victim had been subjected to re-traumatisation by an incident in a French hostel where Georgian men had visited and ransacked his room when he was not there. The applicant feared being returned to France and was afraid of being deported to Georgia. According to the doctor, the applicant would be at a significant or high risk of suicide if he was transferred to France. The applicant’s lawyer argued that his return would infringe his rights under Articles 4 and 7 of the EU Charter and Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and that the applicant was at risk of refoulement. The IPAT rejected the appeal and upheld the International Protection Office's decision to transfer the applicant to France under the Dublin III Regulation.

The applicant filed an appeal before the High Court and requested an injunction to stop his transfer decision. The High Court rejected the appeal on the grounds that the applicant failed to present proof that he would be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment as a result of significant or a permanent deterioration in the state of his health. The High Court found that although the medical report indicated a risk to the applicant if the injunction was rejected, the risk did not outweigh the reasons to reject an injunction or stay of procedure, especially when it comes to upholding the integrity of the Dublin III regime. The High Court noted that there were also inconsistencies with regards to the applicant’s experience in France. It also referred to the CJEU judgments N.S. and others v Refugee Applications Commissioner, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (United Kingdom) (Joined cases C-411/10 and C-493/10, 21 December 2011) and C.K. and Others v Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) (C-578/16 PPU, 16 February 2017).