The ECtHR‘s Recent Jurisprudence on Issues Related to Asylum and Return Decisions

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Year: 2024

Speaker

Holger Böhmann has been an administrative judge in Germany since 1996, with a distinguished career spanning various judicial roles. Beginning in the judiciary of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, he later transitioned to several national ministerial and international positions before being elected as a Federal Judge in March 2016. Following his election, he was appointed as a Judge at the Federal Administrative Court in June 2016.

Since October 2018, Böhmann has served as a member of the Senate overseeing asylum and migration law matters. He plays a pivotal role as the German national contact person for the Courts and Tribunals Network of the European Asylum Agency (EUAA), fostering collaboration and information exchange at the European level. Additionally, Böhmann actively participates in national and European administrative judges' associations and contributes to judges' training programs in administrative and migration law, both domestically and across Europe.

Topic

The presentation by Holger Böhmann at the ERA Annual Conference on European Asylum and Migration Law 2023, delved into recent jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding asylum and return decisions, particularly focusing on cases involving returns at the border or shortly after entry, known as "pushbacks" or "hot returns."

Böhmann outlined key cases such as Akkad v. Turkey and Safi and others v. Greece, which highlighted violations of Article 3 (prohibition of degrading treatment) and Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) due to immediate expulsions and inadequate investigations.

He also discussed cases like Darboe and Camara v. Italy, emphasizing violations of Article 8 (right to private life) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) due to failures in age-assessment procedures for unaccompanied minors.

Furthermore, Böhmann addressed the evolving ECtHR jurisprudence on border returns, noting cases like A.B. and A.I. v. Poland, which involved collective expulsions and failures to assess individual asylum claims, leading to violations of various ECHR articles.

The presentation concluded with points for...