Article 19 - Protection in the event of removal, expulsion or extradition
Key facts of the case:
The case concerned an application for international protection by two sisters of Albanian origin, who claimed that they had been about to be forcibly married in their home country. It was their father, who had regularly exercised violence against his daugthers, who had decided to marry them by force. The daughters claimed that they would fall victims of an honour-crime if they were sent back to Albania. They also claimed to be the victims of gender-based violence.
Outcome of the case:
The Administrative Court held that the applicants’ arguments were not strong enough, and did not prove that the Albanian Government would be unable to protect them from the violence and persecution of which they claimed to be the victims. The Court took into consideration article 19 of the Charter, which was invoked by the applicants, only to conclude that the Charter did not invalidate the Government order against the applicants to leave the territory, since it had not been established that they ran a serious risk of persecution or inhuman treatment without any protection from the Albanian State.
If the applicants rely on Article 18 of the Constitution, prohibiting the death penalty, on Article 33 of the Geneva Convention, according to which “no Contracting State shall expel or return (“refouler”) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”, and on Article 19 of the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights, which provides that “No one may be removed, expelled or extradited to a State where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”, these provisions are not, however, such as to call into question the lawfulness of the expulsion order, inasmuch as the Court has just held that the applicants do not run a serious risk of suffering persecution or serious injury, including death, without the possibility of protection from their country of origin.
Si les demanderesses invoquent l’article 18 de la Constitution, interdisant la peine de mort, l’article 33 de la Convention de Genève, aux termes duquel « Aucun des Etats Contractants n’expulsera ou ne refoulera, de quelque manière que ce soit, un réfugié sur les frontières des territoires où sa vie ou sa liberté serait menacée en raison de sa race, de sa religion, de sa nationalité, de son appartenance à un certain groupe social ou de ses opinions politiques », ainsi que l’article 19 de la Charte des droits de l’homme de l’Union européenne, aux termes duquel « Nul ne peut être éloigné, expulsé ou extradé vers un État où il existe un risque sérieux qu'il soit soumis à la peine de mort, à la torture ou à d'autres peines ou traitements inhumains ou dégradants. », ces dispositions ne sont toutefois pas de nature à mettre en cause la légalité de l’ordre de quitter le territoire, dans la mesure où le tribunal vient de retenir que les demanderesses ne courent pas un risque sérieux de subir des persécutions ou atteintes graves, y compris la mort, sans possibilité d’une protection de leur pays d’origine.
