Article 4 - Prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Body of the case:
The Danish Immigration Service followed by the Danish Refugee Appeals Board decided, that a Gambian asylum seeker had to be transferred to Germany in accordance with the Dublin Regulation, because he had already been rejected asylum in Germany before he applied for protection in Denmark. He objected the decision with reference to having been subject to harassment, assault and racism in Germany without the interference of the German Police.
Key legal question raised by the Court:
The legal question in the case is whether the treatment that the applicant had been subjected to in Germany amounts to degrading or inhumane treatment as defined by the European Convention on Human Rights Article 3 and the EU Charter Article 4, thus making a transfer to Germany illegal.
Outcome of the case:
The Danish Refugee Appeals Board concluded that there are no indicators that German authorities are either unable or unwilling to secure the applicant’s rights as secured in the European Convention on Human Rights Article 3 and the Charter Article 4. Germany has joined the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter and has domestic complaint mechanisms in place making it possible to complain over the conduct of the German police to a higher authority. The Board thus affirmed the decision by the Danish Immigration Service to transfer the asylum seeker to Germany.
“The Danish Refugee Appeals Board thereby puts emphasis on the fact that Germany has ratified the Refugee Convention, EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, and that there is no reason to assume that Germany isn’t complying with their international obligations including the right to not be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment cf. EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights Article 4 and the principle of non-refoulement.“
”Flygtningenævnet har herved lagt vægt på, at Tyskland har tiltrådt Flygtningekonventionen, EU’s charter om grundlæggende rettigheder og Den Europæiske Menneskerettighedskonvention, og at der ikke er grundlag for at antage, at Tyskland ikke overholder deres internationale forpligtelser, herunder retten til ikke at blive udsat for umenneskelig eller nedværdigende behandling, jf. EU’s Charter om grundlæggende rettigheder artikel 4, samt princippet om non-refoulement.”
