On Thursday 14 September, the European Court of Justice concluded the validity of the rules in the directive on the reception of asylum seekers (2013/33/EU). In Case-18/16, it ruled that an asylum seeker can be placed in retention in order to allow the authorities of the member state in question to verify their identity, nationality and whether they effectively fulfil the conditions for claiming international protection, whilst preventing any possible absconding.
To this end, the Court followed all the different points in the conclusions delivered by Advocate General Sharpston (see EUROPE 11781) in the case where a Dutch court is due to give its verdict on the appeal of an Iranian national placed in retention in the Netherlands, following the introduction of a request for asylum in this country, after having been imprisoned for two weeks following an attempt to get into the United Kingdom with a false passport.
The Dutch court asked the European Court of Justice to interpret the compatibility of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU with the provisions in the directive mentioned above stipulating the possibility of a member state putting an asylum seeker in retention in order to check their nationality and to determine the different elements of the asylum request, which cannot be obtained without being placed in retention, particularly if there is a risk of the interested party absconding.
In its ruling, the Court rules that being placed in retention constitutes an appropriate measure insofar as it enables the authorities to carry out the above-mentioned checks and provide a hearing for the interested party to verify whether the request for asylum is well founded, whilst preventing any attempt to abscond. It decided that the objective in the directive is to ensure the effective functioning of the European asylum system, whilst preventing people who do not fulfil these conditions from obtaining the right of asylum and entering and residing illegally in the EU. (Original version in French by Francesco Gariazzo)