Non-refoulment and Dublin rules
Non-refoulment and Dublin rules

Summary/Abstract: The article is elaborating on the non-refoulment principle in Dublin cases. Dublin system was created to dealwith the problem of asylum seekers moving between different EU jurisdictions, the Dublin Convention1 wasintroduced in 1990, because there were no provisions available under the EC Treaty. Dublin II regulation was issuedin 2003 nevertheless the situation of asylum seekers cannot be consideredgood. Cooperation was purelyintergovernmental and, therefore, out of the scope of the EC Treaty. There is a tendency for some asylum seekers toreapply for asylum in another country when their asylum claim is rejected in the first country in which they apply forprotection. Therefore there emerged a need to agree upon which country was responsible for the review of everyasylum application. The Dublin Convention has an impact on the distribution of asylum seekers within the EuropeanUnion and the general perception is that it influences border countries more than countries situated in the middle ofthe European Continent. In order to analyse how it really influences the access of third country nationals to Europe,it is first necessary to give an overview of what the convention contains. Non refoulment principle can be found inart 33 of the Geneva Convention on Refugees from 1951. As Dublin procedure is regulated with regulation it isdirectly applicable in all EU member states. Problems arise when the countries where the asylum seekers are returneddo not have effective asylum procedures which might lead up to the violation of non-refoulment principle.

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