The Superior Court (Tribunal Superior de Justicia, TSJ) of Madrid has ordered the Spanish authorities to ensure that asylum seekers returning to Spain from other European countries under the Dublin Regulation are not excluded from access to the reception system.
The TSJ found that the two appellants’ right to judicial protection under Article 24 of the Constitution had been breached as they were denied accommodation in the reception system for asylum seekers upon return to Spain. The Ministry of Labour, Migration and Social Security withdrew reception conditions on the ground that applicants had renounced the right to reception by leaving the country. At least 20 people returned to Spain under the Dublin Regulation have been left destitute in Madrid due to the practice.
To comply with the judgment, the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Social Security has adopted instructions guaranteeing returned asylum seekers’ right to re-access the reception system and to benefit from an adequate standard of living. It has amended the Reception Handbook to clarify that reception conditions shall not been withdrawn for reasons of abandonment of the place of residence where the applicant has been returned to Spain under the Dublin Regulation.
Spain has received 7,570 incoming Dublin requests between January and September 2018 according to official statistics. The majority have been issued by France (3,508) and Germany (2,264).
For further information:
- ECRE, Withdrawal of reception conditions for asylum seekers: An appropriate, effective or legal sanction?July 2018
- AIDA, Country Report Spain, 2017 Update, March 2018
This information was first published by AIDA managed by ECRE*
This article appeared in the ECRE Weekly Bulletin . You can subscribe to the Weekly Bulletin here.