Case Law

A Kurdish journalist applied for asylum upon her arrival at Zurich Airport. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) decided that the application was not admissible in the airport procedure based on the safe third country principle. The SEM considered that the conditions for a safe return to Brazil, where the journalist had been prior to her arrival in Switzerland, were present. The Court held that SEM needs to examine whether Brazil is safe in the particular case of the applicant. Unlike the third countries listed as “safe countries” by the Federal Council, the asylum authorities must take into consideration the characteristics for each individual case to decide whether the third country offers a sufficient protection against refoulement.

8 February 2018 | Judicial Body: Switzerland: Tribunal administratif fédéral | Topic(s): Safe third country | Countries: Brazil - Switzerland

13 December 2012 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Topic(s): Effective remedy - Right to family life - Suspensive effect | Countries: Brazil - France

4 January 2012 | Judicial Body: Australia: Refugee Review Tribunal | Topic(s): Mental health | Countries: Australia - Brazil

1 August 2011 | Judicial Body: New Zealand: Immigration and Protection Tribunal | Topic(s): Credibility assessment - Mental health | Countries: Brazil - New Zealand

Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs.

24 November 2010 | Judicial Body: Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACrtHR) | Topic(s): Disappeared persons - Freedom of information - Impunity - Right to justice - Transitional justice (including amnesty laws) | Countries: Brazil

14 September 2010 | Judicial Body: United States Board of Immigration Appeals | Topic(s): Convention against Torture (CAT) - Deportation / Forcible return - Persecution based on political opinion - Rejected asylum-seekers | Countries: Brazil - United States of America

27 November 2009 | Judicial Body: New Zealand: Refugee Status Appeals Authority | Topic(s): Combatants / Former combatants - Credibility assessment - Military service / Conscientious objection / Desertion / Draft evasion / Forced conscription - Non-state agents of persecution - Persecution based on political opinion - Prosecution vs persecution | Countries: Brazil - New Zealand

Petition for judicial review of an order of removal. Includes Order and Judgment (31 July 2009) and Order Amending Decision (14 August 2009).

31 July 2009 | Judicial Body: United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit | Topic(s): Country of origin information (COI) - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) - Non-state agents of persecution - Social group persecution | Countries: Brazil - United States of America

28 April 2009 | Judicial Body: Australia: Refugee Review Tribunal | Topic(s): Effective protection - Grounds for persecution - Mental health - Persecution based on political opinion | Countries: Australia - Brazil