Case Law

This matter engages the jurisdiction of this Court as it involves a constitutional challenge to section 4(1)(b) of the Act. Beyond this, it raises arguable points of law of general public importance, such as the definition of a political crime, the proper interpretation and application of the “exclusion clause”, whether an internal appeal process is available to an excluded person under the Act, as well as what the rights are of an excluded person who may be persecuted upon returning to her country of origin. These are issues of great importance to asylum seekers and refugees, and impact their right to fair administrative action.

28 September 2018 | Judicial Body: South Africa: Constitutional Court | Topic(s): Exclusion clauses - Extradition - Serious non-political crime | Countries: Serbia - South Africa

“(….) even where national security is at stake, the concepts of lawfulness and the rule of law in a democratic society require that deportation measures affecting fundamental human rights be subject to some form of adversarial proceedings before an independent authority or a court competent to effectively scrutinise the reasons for them and review the relevant evidence, if need be with appropriate procedural limitations on the use of classified information.

17 May 2018 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Legal Instrument: 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) | Topic(s): Expulsion - National security / Public order | Countries: North Macedonia - Serbia

failure to regularize the residence status of a stateless migrant for many years considered violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life)

26 April 2018 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Legal Instrument: 1954 Statelessness Convention | Topic(s): Citizenship / Nationality law - Right to a nationality - Statelessness | Countries: Albania - Croatia - Serbia

25 April 2017 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Legal Instrument: 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) | Topic(s): Complementary forms of protection - Criminal justice - Expulsion - National security / Public order - Right to family life | Countries: Austria - Serbia

21 December 2015 | Judicial Body: Luxembourg: Tribunal administratif | Topic(s): Family reunification - Immigration law | Countries: Luxembourg - Serbia

7 July 2015 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Topic(s): Deportation / Forcible return - Discrimination based on race, nationality, ethnicity - Freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment - Reception - Roma | Countries: Belgium - France - Serbia

12 February 2015 | Judicial Body: Belgium: Conseil du Contentieux des Etrangers | Topic(s): Albanians - Family reunification - Muslim - Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | Countries: Belgium - Serbia

14 January 2015 | Judicial Body: Ireland: High Court | Topic(s): Albanians - Social group persecution | Countries: Ireland - Serbia

6 March 2014 | Judicial Body: Austria: Constitutional Court of Austria (Verfassungsgerichtshof) | Topic(s): Expulsion - Right to a nationality - Statelessness | Countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina - Serbia

16 January 2014 | Judicial Body: Belgium: Cour constitutionnelle | Topic(s): Effective remedy - Safe country of origin | Countries: Albania - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - India - Montenegro - North Macedonia - Serbia