Protection / Complementary forms of protection

1. The Court of Justice of the European Union has jurisdiction, on the basis of Article 267 TFEU, to interpret Article 11(2) of Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification in a situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, where a national court is called upon to rule on an application for family reunification lodged by a beneficiary of subsidiary protection, if that provision was made directly and unconditionally applicable to such a situation under national law. 2. Article 11(2) of Directive 2003/86 must be interpreted as precluding, in circumstances such as those at issue in the main proceedings, in which an application for family reunification has been lodged by a sponsor benefiting from subsidiary protection in favour of a minor of whom she is the aunt and allegedly the guardian, and who resides as a refugee and without family ties in a third country, that application from being rejected solely on the ground that the sponsor has not provided official documentary evidence of the death of the minor’s biological parents and, consequently, that she has an actual family relationship with him, and that the explanation given by the sponsor to justify her inability to provide such evidence has been deemed implausible by the competent authorities solely on the basis of the general information available concerning the situation in the country of origin, without taking into consideration the specific circumstances of the sponsor and the minor and the particular difficulties they have encountered, according to their testimony, before and after fleeing their country of origin.

13 March 2019 | Judicial Body: European Union: Court of Justice of the European Union | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Complementary forms of protection - Country of origin information (COI) - Evidence (including age and language assessments / medico-legal reports) - Family reunification | Countries: Eritrea - Netherlands

December 2010 | Publisher: European Migration Network (EMN) | Document type: Thematic Reports

This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.

10 March 2009 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Complementary forms of protection - Internal armed conflict - Residence permits / Residency - Right to family life - Security situation | Countries: Netherlands - Somalia

This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.

10 March 2009 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Complementary forms of protection - Internal armed conflict - Residence permits / Residency - Right to family life - Security situation | Countries: Netherlands - Somalia

9 September 2008 | Judicial Body: European Union: Court of Justice of the European Union | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Complementary forms of protection - EU Qualification Directive - Evidence (including age and language assessments / medico-legal reports) - Freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment - Internal armed conflict | Countries: Iraq - Netherlands

January 2008 | Publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) | Document type: Court Interventions / Amicus Curiae

July 2004 | Publisher: European Council on Refugees and Exiles | Document type: Research, Background and Discussion Papers