The legality of the detention of third-country nationals in order to ensure the passing back to the Member State where they enjoy international protection

This project concerns three cases (CJEU Case C‐673/19), in which the Council of State has referred a preliminary question on 4 September 2019. The question concerns the detention of migrants, who have received an asylum status in another EU Member State and have applied for asylum in the Netherlands. Their asylum applications have been declared…

CJEU judgment in case concerning visa representation

In a judgment of 29 July 2019 the Court of Justice answered preliminary questions referred by the district court of Utrecht, the Netherlands (Case C-680/17). The Migration Law Clinic had issued an expert opinion in this case, which was sent to the CJEU. The case concerned the request of Sri Lankan nationals for a Schengenvisa for the Netherlands. On the basis…

Third party intervention European Court of Human Rights case M.T. and others v Sweden (Appl no 22105/18)

This case concerns a Syrian minor boy, whose request for family reunification with his mother and brother was refused. The reason was a temporary law adopted in Sweden which provided that persons in need of subsidiary protection do not have the right to family reunification (while refugees do have that right). The boy and his…

Third party intervention European Court of Human Rights case S.S. v Sweden (Appl no 43654/18)

The case concerns a young Afghan woman, who applied for asylum in Sweden. The application was rejected. She complains that her return to Afghanistan would violate Art. 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The ECtHR has communicated the case to the Swedish Government on 10 December 2018 and asked it the following questions: 1. In…

The requirement of ‘sufficient substance’ of the relationship between father and child

This project concerns a series of cases in which the Dutch Council of State has ruled that there was no right to family reunification of a father with his biological child(ren), who was/were born out of wedlock (Council of State 18 July 2018, ECLI:NL:RVS:2018:2366, ECLI:NL:RVS:2018:2466, ECLI:NL:RVS:2018:2467, ECLI:NL:RVS:2018:2469 and 10 September, ECLI:NL:RVS:2018:2940). The Council of State considered that there were no factual family…

Ghent University wins Moot Court Competition

On 9 and 10 May 2019, 12 student teams from all over the world competed in the International Migration and Refugee Law Moot Court Competition at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The teams pleaded in a case concerning Mr. Moreno, a Venezualan asylum seeker, who applied for asylum on the fictitious Island of Caraiba. Judges from…