The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a criminal conviction is not enough for the refugee status of a third-country national to be revoked.
According to the EU Court of Justice, a refugee who is convicted of a crime can get their status revoked or denied only if they also pose a significant danger to society.
“The Court clarifies that the revocation measure at issue may be adopted only where the third-country national concerned constitutes a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat to one of the fundamental interests of the society of the Member State in which he or she is present,” the statement of the Court reads.
As Info Migrants explains, the EU Court of Justice has issued three judgements related to when the refugee status can be revoked or denied.
The EU law regulates the revocation of refugee status following a criminal offence. However, the details of the measures imposed in such cases have not been determined yet.
Since the rules were not determined, three EU countries – Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands – asked questions about the issue in order to clarify the interpretation of this specific regulation.
Following questions from these countries, the EU Court of Justice said that two conditions must be met before refugee status gets revoked, with the first condition being that the third country national has committed a serious crime and the second condition being that the third country national poses a danger to the community.
“A revocation measure is subject to two separate conditions being satisfied, namely, first, that the third-country national concerned has been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime and, secondly, that it has been established that third-country national constitutes a danger to the community of the Member State in which he or she is present,” the Court explained.
In terms of balancing the process, the EU Court of Justice asserted that revoking the refugee status of a third-country national can only occur if the authorities determine that such action is proportionate considering the threat posed by the individual.
However, the EU Court also clarified that the authorities of EU Member States are not obliged to consider the extent of measures that the individual might be subject to upon returning to their country of origin.
Still, in most cases, the Member States choose not to deport a third-country national to their country of origin in cases when they are exposed to certain dangers.
