The case of M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece (application no. 30696/09) concerns an Afghan citizen who arrived in the European Union through Greece, but applied for asylum in Belgium in February 2009. The Belgian authorities then sought to transfer him back to Greece under the "Dublin II" Regulation. The applicant objected on the grounds that he would be detained in Greece in appalling conditions and would eventually be sent back to Afghanistan due to the deficient asylum system in Greece. The applicant was ultimately transferred despite his protests as the Belgian authorities claimed there was no reason to suspect that the Greek authorities would fail to fulfill their obligations.
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg made his first ever oral intervention as a third party before the European Court of Human Rights in the case. Whilst supporting Greece's ongoing efforts to overhaul their refugee protection system, Commissioner Hammarberg observed that asylum law and practice in Greece did not comply with European and international human rights standards. He noted: "asylum seekers in Greece continue to face enormous difficulties trying to gain access to the asylum procedure, and do not always enjoy basic safeguards such as interpretation and legal aid. Moreover, existing remedy to appeal against negative asylum applications cannot be considered as effective".
To view the Council of Europe's press release, please click here.
The PILA Bulletin has previously reported that the Court of Appeal is to make a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice in relation to an English case on removal of asylum seekers to Greece. Please click here to view the High Court decision in the case of R (on the application of Saeedi) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, and Amnesty International and AIRE Centre and UNHCR (Interveners) [2010] EWHC 705 (Admin).