An applicant for international protection in Slovenia was subject to a transfer decision to Bulgaria under the Dublin III Regulation. The applicant lodged an appeal against this decision before the Administrative Court, alleging that the conditions in Bulgaria’s asylum and detention centers constituted inhuman or degrading treatment. He described poor hygiene, inadequate food, and lack of medical care in Bulgaria. The court found these allegations to be unfounded, emphasising that his only health problem while staying in Bulgaria was a common cold. It concluded that the conditions described did not amount to inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU Charter) upholding the Ministry of the Interior’s decision. The applicant lodged an appeal against this judgment before the Supreme Court, arguing that his health had rapidly and significantly worsened since the lower court’s ruling. In particular, he argued that he was diagnosed with chronic anal fissure and third-degree hemorrhoidal syndrome, requiring ongoing medication, follow-up examinations, and potentially surgery. He argued that his transfer to Bulgaria could result in a serious deterioration of his health and expose him to inhuman or degrading treatment. 

Examining the judgment, the court held that whilst Article 3(2)(2) of the Dublin III Regulation refers only to the situation where a risk to inhuman treatment results from systemic deficiencies, the CJEU in Abubacarr Jawo v Bundesrepublik Deutschland (C163/17), of 19 March 2019, clarified that the transfer of an applicant must not proceed in all circumstances that would lead to a risk of inhuman or degrading treatment during or after the transfer.  

The court emphasised that Member States were required to provide applicants for international protection with the necessary medical care and assistance according to Articles 17 to 19 of the recast Reception Conditions Directive, including at least emergency care and essential medical treatment. The court noted that in line with the principle of mutual trust, there is a presumption that the Republic of Bulgaria would provide the applicant with the necessary healthcare and medical assistance and that there are no reasons why the applicant’s treatment should not continue after transfer. In this regard, the court ruled that the applicant had not claimed that hemorrhoids or anal fissures are serious or specific diseases for which adequate treatment is available only in certain Member States, and not in Bulgaria. The court also ruled that the applicant had failed to refute the assumption of existence and quality of medical treatment in Bulgaria by merely repeating claims that he did not receive medical assistance for a few days, and that his living conditions and food were poor, and that such allegations did not reach the level of seriousness of Article 4 of the EU Charter. 

The court also held that according to the CJEU judgment of C.K. and Others v Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) (C-578/16 PPU), of 16 February 2017, the applicant could not be considered to be suffering from a particularly serious mental or physical illness. It ruled that a mere blanket assumption by the applicant that his health condition could deteriorate without further treatment, to the point that he would have to seek urgent medical attention, was not sufficient to demonstrate the particular seriousness of the illness and the significant irreversible consequences for the applicant's health, if he were to be transferred to Bulgaria.

The Supreme Court of Slovenia dismissed the applicant’s appeal and upheld the judgment of the lower court. It found that his medical condition, while requiring treatment, did not reach the threshold of particular seriousness necessary to prevent transfer under the Dublin III Regulation. The court held that the applicant had not rebutted the presumption of adequate medical care in Bulgaria. Therefore, the transfer did not expose him to a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 4 of the EU Charter.