Congolese woman loses appeal over transfer to Belgium for asylum

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal dismissed a Congolese woman’s appeal against her transfer to Belgium, where her application for international protection is to be considered. The proceedings were reported on 27 January 2022.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, argued that she would face inhuman and degrading treatment because of systemic failures in Belgium’s asylum procedures and reception conditions.

She had entered the EU through Brussels on a Belgian visa and spent a couple of days in Belgium before arriving in Ireland, where she first applied for protection. She asked to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds, citing relationships she had formed and the risks posed by Covid-19.

The Minister for Justice refused her application to halt the transfer. In the preceding November, Mr Justice Cian Ferriter dismissed her High Court challenge, holding that the Minister had properly considered her application and given full reasons for the decision.

The Court of Appeal was made up of Mr Justice John Edwards, Ms Justice Mary Faherty and Mr Justice Maurice Collins. Giving its decision, Mr Justice Collins said the case raised “difficult arguments” about the operation of EU regulations and systems concerning international protection.

The court was satisfied that the Minister was entitled to find no exceptional circumstances justified allowing the woman to remain in Ireland, and that the proposed transfer did not breach her rights.