CYIL vol. 11 (2020)

CYIL 11 (2020)

THE PRINCIPLE OF NON-REFOULEMENT AND THE EU CHARTER…

THE PRINCIPLE OF NON-REFOULEMENT AND THE EU CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS Harald Christian Scheu Abstract: Thanks to the case law of the EU Court of Justice, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is not alone in playing an important role in EU migration and asylum law, the Charter of Fundamental Rights does as well. In this paper, we deal with the Court’s arguments in a case concerning the absoluteness of the principle of non-refoulement and place them in the broader context of international law. Resumé: Díky judikatuře Soudního dvora EU nejen Evropská úmluva o lidských právech a základních svobodách, ale také Listina základních práv EU hraje důležitou roli v kontex- tu migračního a azylového práva EU. V tomto článku se zabýváme argumenty Soudního dvora v případě týkajícím se absolutnosti zásady non-refoulement a hodnotíme jeho postup z širšího pohledu kontextu mezinárodního práva. Key words: Charter of Fundamental Rights, European Court of Justice, principle of non- refoulement, migration and asylum, Geneva Convention, human rights. About the Author : Harald Christian Scheu, Doc., Mag. phil., Dr. iur., Ph.D., educated at the University of Salzburg (Dr. iur., 1995, Mag. phil., 1996) and the University of Prague (Ph.D., 1997, Doc., 2006). He has received numerous fellowships (Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht in Heidelberg, University of Bern, European University Institute in Florence, University of Zürich, University of Vienna). From 1997 until 2006 he lectured at the Department of International Law and since 2006 at the Department of European Law of the Law Faculty of Charles University in Prague. He teaches and conducts research in the fields of International and European Law and International Human Rights Law. Since 2013 member of the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for Human Rights, since 2014 member of the Czech Government’s Legislative Council, from 2015 until 2020 member of the Management Board of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, since 2020 member of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. 1. Introduction As it is well known, asylum and migration belong to the most sensitive fields of EU law. Due to the gradual Europeanization of national migration and asylum policies, the relevant legislation has become confusing and contradictory. Since the aftermath of the 2015 migration crisis, EU institutions and Members States proved unable to find lasting solutions and adopt a new comprehensive legal framework, the ambitious project of a common European migration and asylum policy, so far, remains piecemeal. In this undesirable situation, European human rights norms, as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), serve as a major source of legal certainty to the most vulnerable migrants and refugees. Repeatedly, those courts have protected their fundamental rights and freedoms. Thanks to the case law of the EU Court of Justice, the European Convention on Human Rights

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