The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Thursday 8 February (case no. C-216/22), that any judgment of the Court which significantly increases the likelihood of an asylum seeker qualifying for refugee status may justify a full examination of a subsequent application without that application being dismissed as inadmissible.
This judgment relates to the case of a Syrian who left his country in 2012, fearing that he would be arrested if he refused to carry out his military obligations. In 2017, he was granted subsidiary protection in Germany, but not refugee status.
Following a judgment by the Court of Justice of the EU on the situation of Syrian conscientious objectors (case no. C-238/19), the person concerned lodged a new asylum application, referred to as a “subsequent application”, arguing that the judgment constituted a favourable change in the law.
However, this application was rejected as inadmissible, meaning that the conditions required to claim refugee status had not been examined.
The Syrian then challenged this refusal before a German court. The latter asked the CJEU whether it was compatible with EU law to consider that only an amendment to the applicable provisions, and not a judicial decision, could constitute a new factor that could lead to a full examination of the subsequent application.
Responding to this request, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that any judgment of the Court may constitute a new element justifying a full examination “if the conditions for claiming refugee status are met”, according to a Court press release.
However, the judgment must significantly increase the likelihood of the claimant meeting these conditions.
As far as the rest of the procedure is concerned, if a national court overturns a decision rejecting a subsequent application as inadmissible, Member States may empower their courts to rule on the application themselves and, where appropriate, grant refugee status.
Link to the judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/ary (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)