Article 11 - Freedom of expression and information
Key facts of the case:
Reference for a preliminary ruling - Area of freedom, security and justice - Common asylum policy - Eligibility for refugee status - Directive 2011/95/EU - Article 10(1)(e) and (2) - Reasons for persecution - Concepts of ‘political opinion’ and ‘attributed political opinion’ - Attempts by an applicant for asylum to defend himself, in his country of origin, by legal means against non-State actors acting illegally and in a position to exploit the mechanism by which that State imposes penalties for criminal offences.
Outcome of the case:
On those grounds, the Court (Third Chamber) hereby rules:
Article 10(1)(e) and (2) of Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted
must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of ‘political opinion’ includes attempts by an applicant for international protection, within the meaning of Article 2(h) and (i) of that directive, to defend his personal material and economic interests by legal means against non-State actors acting illegally, where those actors, on account of their connections with the State via corruption, are in a position to exploit, to the applicant’s detriment, the mechanism by which that State imposes penalties for criminal offences, in so far as those attempts are perceived by the actors of persecution as opposition or resistance as part of a matter related to those actors or their policies and/or methods.
4 Recitals 4, 12, 16 and 29 of Directive 2011/95 state:
...
(16) This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In particular this Directive seeks to ensure full respect for human dignity and the right to asylum of applicants for asylum and their accompanying family members and to promote the application of Articles 1, 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 24, 34 and 35 of that Charter, and should therefore be implemented accordingly.
21 The directive must be interpreted in the light of its general scheme and purpose, and in a manner consistent with the Geneva Convention, which is the cornerstone of the international legal regime for the protection of refugees, as recalled in recital 4 of the directive, and also, as is apparent from recital 16 of the directive, with the rights recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’) (see, to that effect, judgment of 19 November 2020, Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (Military service and asylum), C‑238/19, EU:C:2020:945, paragraphs 19 and 20 and the case-law cited).
28 In the second place, the concept of ‘political opinions’ within the meaning of Article 10(1)(e) of Directive 2011/95, given that it is intended to protect the right to freedom of opinion and of expression, must be interpreted in the light of Article 11 of the Charter, which is expressly referred to in recital 16 of the directive as one of the articles which the application of the directive is intended to promote.
29 Under Article 11 of the Charter, everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. It follows from the Explanations relating to the Charter of Fundamental Rights (OJ 2007 C 303, p. 17) and from Article 52(3) of the Charter that the rights guaranteed in Article 11 thereof have the same meaning and scope as those guaranteed in Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as interpreted by the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, without prejudice to EU law providing more extensive protection (see, to that effect, judgment of 26 April 2022, Poland v Parliament and Council, C‑401/19, EU:C:2022:297, paragraph 44).
32 That case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, which is relevant to the interpretation of Article 11 of the Charter, supports a broad interpretation of the concept of ‘political opinion’ within the meaning of Article 10(1)(e) of Directive 2011/95. According to that interpretation, the concept of ‘political opinion’ covers any opinion, thought or belief which, without necessarily being directly and immediately political, manifests as an act or omission which is perceived by the actors of persecution mentioned in Article 6 of the directive as part of a matter related to those actors or their policies and/or methods and communicating opposition or resistance thereto.
