Binding Force of Refugee Status: ECJ Ruling

Jun 28, 2024 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has recently ruled: Refugee status as granted by another EU country cannot be ignored. However, according to the ECJ, a Member State is not obliged to automatically recognise a refugee status granted by another Member State.

A Syrian national had been granted refugee status by Greece. He then submitted an application for international protection in Germany. A German court ruled that he could not return to Greece because the living conditions for refugees in Greece would expose him to the risk of inhuman or degrading treatment. As a result, the competent German authority rejected the application for refugee status, but granted him subsidiary protection status.

The Syrian national then brought an action against the refusal of refugee status before the German courts. The court before which the case was brought subsequently referred the question to the ECJ as to whether, in such a case, the competent authority had an obligation to grant refugee status to the applicant solely on the basis that refugee status had already been granted by the other Member State.

The ECJ decided as follows:

Under current EU law, Member States are not obliged to automatically recognise decisions on the granting of refugee status taken by another Member State. However, the Member State in question is of course free either to recognise the status or to initiate an assessment of its own.

Nevertheless, in carrying out its assessment, the authority has to have due regard to the determination made by the other Member State and the evidence supporting it.

For this purpose, the assessing authority must immediately initiate an exchange of information with the authority which took the initial decision.

ECJ C-753/22 (18 June 2024)