Wednesday January 31, 2024
Photograph: Chris Maddaloni/Collins/ IRISH TIMES
Dublin (HOL) - The High Court in Ireland recently dismissed a Somali man's last-minute effort to prevent his deportation to France, which was scheduled for February 1st. The man, who arrived in Ireland in August 2022, had sought asylum after claiming the Somali Islamic militant group Al Shabbab killed his father and two brothers. His request for protection had previously been denied in both Germany and France.
Under the European Union's Dublin III Regulation, the responsibility for examining an asylum application typically falls to the first EU country where the applicant entered and was fingerprinted, or where they first lodged their asylum application. In this case, the man had already sought asylum in France before arriving in Ireland. Consequently, according to the Dublin III Regulation, France is deemed responsible for handling his asylum claim.
Eamonn Dornan BL, representing the Somali man, contended that a decision under Article 17 of the Dublin III Regulation, which deals with family reunification rights for protection applicants, must be made before any transfer can occur. On the opposite side, Sarah-Jane Hillery BL, for the international protection authorities and the minister, argued that the man, having been rejected for asylum in other EU countries, was effectively no longer an asylum seeker.
Ms. Justice Niamh Hyland dismissed the request for an injunction to prevent the deportation. She noted the lack of a challenge to a refusal under Article 17, as no such refusal had been issued. Hyland further stated that the man's latest application to the minister was filed only five days before initiating the new High Court proceedings. She described his attempt to challenge the transfer to France as a collateral attack, given the decision had already been contested and withdrawn in previous judicial reviews.
Hyland also observed that the man had the opportunity to file his application in 2022. While acknowledging that after February 22nd, the Irish State would lose the right to return him to France under the Dublin Convention, she affirmed that if his legal challenge in Ireland is successful, he would be entitled to return.