Common European Asylum System in a Changing World

provides an effective means of protection against all forms of return to places where there is a risk that an individual would be “subjected to torture, or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. In the light of interpretation of the ECHR Article 3 can be invoked in cases the refugee status has been rejected or revoked. It can be used for those, who do not fulfil conditions for the refugee status but who are in need of international protection. It can be used in situations of refoulement , any type of return, expulsion, deportation or extradition. It is clear from the comparison below that the scope of application of Article 3 of the ECHR and Article 33 of the 1951 Convention is different: Article 33 of the 1951 Convention prohibits: refoulement to the frontiers of territories where a refugee’s “life or freedom would be threatened” on account of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. article 3 of the ECHR prohibits: torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of anyone, irrespective of their immigration status. Article 5 establishes the right to liberty and security of person and the conditions of its limitation. The ECHR’s interpretation of this right in asylum cases often concerns any restriction of liberty and movement, detention for the purpose of asylum proceeding or removal, transit zones and airport regimes applicable within asylum procedures. Article 8 deals with the right to respect for private and family life and is often interpreted by ECHR in asylum cases not only in the context of the right to family reunification. As the decisions in asylum procedure often have an important impact on the family life interpretation of this right and its hierarchy is subject of ECHR jurisdiction including, notably, the best interest of the child. Article 13 of the ECHR establishes the right to an effective remedy, which is also important in asylum proceedings. This right is reflected at the union level in Article 47 of the EU Charter and in the constitutional traditions of the Member States. There are, of course, other provisions of the ECHR which can be invoked in asylum cases. To conclude, we should also mention the European Social Charter, adopted in 1961 and revised in 1996, which complemented the ECHR in the area of social rights (locus standi for organisations etc.). 1.4 EU Asylum Acquis (EU primary law – TFEU, TEU, EU Charter) The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) represents one of the most complex systems of regional refugee law. It has been developed since the 1990s based on a legal framework designed to create a more uniform system of asylum law in the European Union. CEAS is based on the following key principles:

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