Readers of the Bulletin may remember that M.S.S. v Belgium and Greece was a case in the European Court of Human Rights which concerned the return of asylum seekers from Belgium to Greece under the Dublin II Regulation. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has found violations by both Belgium and Greece.
The Court found that Greece violated Article 3 by reason of both the detention and living conditions provided to the Applicant in Greece. Their finding on living conditions is notable, marking the first time that the Court has identified circumstances of such "extreme material poverty" that the state's failure to provide breaches Article 3. They had previously accepted the principle that the State could be so responsible (Budina), whilst the English House of Lords found such a breach in respect of asylum seekers in Limbuela. In reaching this conclusion, it was relevant that Greece had legal responsibilities under the EU Reception Directive.
The Court also went on to find a violation of Article 13 because of deficiencies in the Greek asylum procedure.
The Court held that Belgium violated Article 3 both by exposing the Applicant to the same deficiencies in the Greek asylum process and also by exposing him to a "real risk" of inhuman and degrading treatment because of the detention and living conditions in Greece. Finally, they found that Belgium breached Article 13 in failing to provide an adequate remedy in relation to the Applicant's expulsion order.
The AIRE Centre and Amnesty International made a joint intervention. Please click here to view their joint press release, which states that this "landmark ruling will have a lasting impact by enhancing the human rights of asylum-seekers in the European Union".
Readers may also remember from the Bulletin that domestic courts have made preliminary references to the European Court of Justice regarding the compatibility of returning asylum-seekers to Greece with fundamental human rights guaranteed by EU law, in particular in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Irish High Court reference is M. E. and others v Refugee Applications Commissioner, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform C-493/10 and the English Court of Appeal reference is NS v. Secretary of State for the Home Department C-411/10.
The AIRE Centre and Amnesty International have also intervened in the English preliminary reference, as have the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The European Commissioner for Home Affairs has issued a press release noting the EU Commission's proposal to amend the Dublin II Regulation.
Meanwhile a report has revealed that Ireland has the lowest acceptance rate of asylum-seekers in the EU with 1.3% refusal rate at first instance. The UN Refugee Agency has previously criticised the low rate of refusal. Please click here to view the Irish Times article.