CYIL 2012

Harald Christian Scheu CYIL 3 ȍ2012Ȏ hand, the Regulation reflects the effort to prevent abuse of the asylum system. Such abuse would be the submission of multiple requests for asylum in several Member States. In Article 3, paragraph 1, the Dublin Regulation therefore establishes the principle that the asylum applications of one particular individual shall be examined by only one Member State. 18 The rules for the determination of the Member State responsible under this specific system are covered in Chapter 3 of the Dublin Regulation, which lays down a hierarchy of relevant criteria. The crucial time for the application of the Dublin criteria is the moment when the first application for asylum was lodged in a Member State of the EU. 19 According to the rules contained in Articles 6 and 7 of the Dublin Regulation, the principle of family unification shall be applied first. According to Article 6 of the Dublin Regulation this principle refers to asylum applications lodged by unaccompanied minors. In such cases the Member State in which a family member 20 has legal residence, will be responsible, if this is in the best interest of the minor. If the minor has no family member in an EU Member State the responsibility will be determined according to where the minor filed the application. In other words, in such exceptional case the asylum seeker has the right to choose the Member State in which he wants to stay. Article 7 of the Dublin Regulation applies to other cases of family reunification, in which a particular asylum seeker has a family member whose refugee status has already been recognized in a Member State. Article 8 of the Dublin Regulation refers to cases in which a family member of the applicant has lodged an application for asylum in a Member State, but the application has not yet been decided. In both cases, under Articles 7 and 8 of Dublin Regulation the application of the family reunification rule shall depend on the wish of both the applicant and the member of his family. According to Article 2 of the Dublin Regulation, the term “family members” includes the spouse of the asylum seeker first. The reunification of unmarried partners is dependent on whether national regulations in the Member State concerned treat unmarried couples in a way comparable to married couples. Secondly, the concept of the family refers to minor children as long as they are unmarried and dependent. No distinction is made between children who were born in or out of wedlock or adopted. In all cases of family reunification, it is necessary that the family relations already existed in the country of origin. 18 According to Article 3, paragraph 2 of the Dublin Regulation each Member State may examine an application for asylum lodged with it by a third-country national, even if such examination is not its responsibility under the criteria laid down in the Regulation. In such an event, that Member State shall become the Member State responsible within the meaning of this Regulation and shall assume the obligations associated with that responsibility. 19 See Article 5 of the Dublin Regulation. 20 According to Article 2 of the Dublin Regulation the term family member of an unmarried minor does not mean only the father and the mother, but also his guardian.

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