Serbia as a Safe Third Country
Serbia as a Safe Third Country

A Wrong Presumption

Author(s): Anikó Bakonyi, Júlia Iván, Gruša Matevžic, Victor-Tudor Rosu
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Public Law
Published by: Beogradski centar za ljudska prava
Keywords: asylum-seekers; refugees; migration;
Summary/Abstract: The writing of this report was triggered by a significant increase in the number of asylum seekers returned by the Hungarian authorities to Serbia in 2011. Hungary modified its Asylum Act in December 2010 and introduced the concept of a safe third country among the criteria examined in the admissibility procedure. The result of this amendment is that asylum seekers arriving in Hungary through Serbia can be returned to Serbia without an in-merit examination of their claim. As the application of this concept concerns a significant number of asylum seekers in Hungary, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) decided to examine whether the utilisation of the safe third country concept in relation to Serbia is justified.The report was compiled by using various sources: internet research, a three-day field mission to the Republic of Serbia, participation in a conference in Belgrade and discussions with governmental, non-governmental and international stakeholders.

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