Brussels, 22/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - The Schengen agreement provides for a member state to have the possibility to expel a third country national whose travel document does not bear an official entry stamp. On the other hand, there is no obligation upon national authorities to do so, contrary to what was stated in the Spanish version of the Regulation in question. In a ruling on Thursday 22 October, the Court of Justice declared that neither the other language versions of the legislation, nor its spirit, uphold the interpretation of the Spanish version (Joint Affairs C-261/98 and C-348/08).
The sentence “el nacional del tercer pais sera expulsado por las authoridades competentes” in Article 11§3 of EC Regulation No 562/2006 on the Schengen Borders Code appears in the other language versions as “the third country national may be expelled by the competent authorities”. The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Murcia had called on the European Court to clarify the matter, to help it in the case of Bolivian nationals Maria Julia Zurita García and Aurelio Choque Cabrera, illegally present on Spanish territory, who challenged their expulsion by the national authorities. The European Court points out that Spain is not under any obligation to expel Ms Garcia and Mr Cabrera, but that it can do so if conditions for expulsion can be justified. (C.D./transl.jl)