The inadequacies of the asylum system constitute violations of the ECHR
JUDGMENT
A.E.A. v. Greece 15.3.2018 (no. 39034/12)
SUMMARY
Insufficiencies of the asylum system. No registration of an asylum application for a long time. Poor living conditions in the host country. Violation of inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to an effective remedy.
PROVISIONS
Article 3
Article 13
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicant, A.E.A., is a Sudanese national who was born in the Darfur region. He belongs to a nonArab tribe.
The case concerned Greece’s asylum procedure, which the applicant alleged had been deficient at the time, and his living conditions in Greece.
A.E.A. stated that he left Sudan in 2003 after being tortured on account of his political views. He
arrived in Greece in April 2009. According to his account, he was issued with an automatic expulsion
order on his arrival. He was then allegedly prevented from having access to the asylum procedure,
between April 2009 and July 2012. As a result, he lived like a homeless person in derelict buildings or
with compatriots. In July 2012 the Greek authorities registered his asylum application, which was
rejected in July 2013.
On an unspecified date A.E.A. left Greece and moved to France, where he applied for international protection.
Relying in particular on Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and 13 (right to
an effective remedy) of the European Convention, A.E.A. alleged deficiencies in the system operated
by the Greek authorities for examining asylum applications, complaining inter alia that his asylum
application had not been registered for three years (from April 2009 to July 2012).
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
Violation of Article 13 in conjunction with Article 3
Just satisfaction: EUR 2,000 (non-pecuniary damage) (echrcaselaw.com editing).
