Adjudication of asylum claims (refugee status determination / asylum procedures) / Military service / Conscientious objection / Desertion / Draft evasion / Forced conscription

This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 9(2)(e) and (3) of Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted (OJ 2011 L 337, p. 9).

19 November 2020 | Judicial Body: European Union: Court of Justice of the European Union | Legal Instrument: 2011 Recast Qualification Directive (EU) | Topic(s): Military service / Conscientious objection / Desertion / Draft evasion / Forced conscription | Countries: Germany - Syrian Arab Republic

Article 9(3) of Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted is to be interpreted as meaning that there must always be a causal link between the reasons for persecution in Article 10(1) and the acts of persecution defined in Article 9(1), including in cases where an applicant for international protection seeks to rely on Article 9(2)(e) of that directive. – Where an applicant for asylum seeks to invoke Article 9(2)(e) of Directive 2011/95 as the act of persecution, reliance upon that provision does not automatically establish that the person concerned has a well-founded fear of persecution because he holds a political opinion within the meaning of Article 10(1)(e) thereof. It is for the competent national authorities, acting under the supervision of the courts, to establish whether there is a causal link for the purposes of that directive. In conducting that assessment the following factors may be relevant: whether the applicant’s home country is conducting a war; the nature and methods employed by the military authorities in such a war; the availability of country reports documenting matters such as whether recruitment for military service is by conscription; whether the status of conscientious objector is recognised under national law and, if so, the procedures for establishing such status; the treatment of those subject to conscription who refuse to perform military service; the existence or absence of alternatives to military service; and the applicant’s personal circumstances, including his age.

28 May 2020 | Judicial Body: European Union: Court of Justice of the European Union | Legal Instrument: 2004 Qualification Directive (EU) | Topic(s): EU Qualification Directive - Military service / Conscientious objection / Desertion / Draft evasion / Forced conscription - Persecution based on political opinion | Countries: Germany - Syrian Arab Republic

28 June 2017 | Judicial Body: Germany: Verwaltungsgericht | Legal Instrument: 1951 Refugee Convention | Topic(s): Freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment - Military service / Conscientious objection / Desertion / Draft evasion / Forced conscription - Palestinian - Persecution based on political opinion - Refugee status determination (RSD) / Asylum procedures - Torture | Countries: Germany - Palestine, State of

26 February 2015 | Judicial Body: European Union: Court of Justice of the European Union | Topic(s): Acts of persecution - Asylum-seekers - Military service / Conscientious objection / Desertion / Draft evasion / Forced conscription - Regional instruments - War crimes | Countries: Germany - United States of America

11 November 2014 | Judicial Body: European Union: Court of Justice of the European Union | Topic(s): Acts of persecution - Asylum-seekers - Military service / Conscientious objection / Desertion / Draft evasion / Forced conscription - Regional instruments - War crimes | Countries: Germany - United States of America

15 October 2007 | Judicial Body: Germany: Verwaltungsgericht | Topic(s): Military service / Conscientious objection / Desertion / Draft evasion / Forced conscription | Countries: Germany - Iran, Islamic Republic of

The case summary in English has been prepared in the framework of the Knowledge-Based Harmonisation of European Asylum Practices Project (2010-2012), co-financed by the European Refugee Fund.

5 November 1991 | Judicial Body: Germany: Bundesverwaltungsgericht | Countries: Germany - Türkiye