Official Journal of the European Union

C 113/4

(Joined Cases C-175/08, C-176/08, C-178/08 and C-179/08) (Directive 2004/83/EC - Minimum standards for determining who qualifies for refugee status or for subsidiary protection status - Classification as a ‘refugee’ - Article 2(c) - Cessation of refugee status - Article 11 - Change of circumstances - Article 11(1)(e) - Refugee - Unfounded fear of persecution - Assessment - Article 11(2) - Revocation of refugee status - Proof - Article 14(2) )

2010/C 113/06

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Aydin Salahadin Abdulla (C-175/08), Kamil Hasan (C-176/08), Ahmed Adem, Hamrin Mosa Rashi (C-178/08), Dler Jamal (C-179/08),

Defendant: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Re:

References for a preliminary ruling — Bundesvewaltungsgericht — Interpretation of Article 11(1) (e) of Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted (OJ 2004 L 304, p. 12) — Decisions of the national authority putting an end to the refugee status of the parties concerned solely on the basis of the finding that their fear of persecution no longer exists, without examining additional conditions concerning the political situation in their country of origin — Iraqi citizens whose refugee status was withdrawn following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime

Operative part of the judgment

refugee status ceases to exist when, having regard to a change of circumstances of a significant and non-temporary nature in the third country concerned, the circumstances which justified the person’s fear of persecution for one of the reasons referred to in Article 2(c) of Directive 2004/83, on the basis of which refugee status was granted, no longer exist and that person has no other reason to fear being ‘persecuted’ within the meaning of Article 2(c) of Directive 2004/83;

for the purposes of assessing a change of circumstances, the competent authorities of the Member State must verify, having regard to the refugee’s individual situation, that the actor or actors of protection referred to in Article 7(1) of Directive 2004/83 have taken reasonable steps to prevent the persecution, that they therefore operate, inter alia, an effective legal system for the detection, prosecution and punishment of acts constituting persecution and that the national concerned will have access to such protection if he ceases to have refugee status;

the actors of protection referred to in Article 7(1)(b) of Directive 2004/83 may comprise international organisations controlling the State or a substantial part of the territory of the State, including by means of the presence of a multinational force in that territory.

*

Language of the case: German

(1) OJ C 197, 2.8.2008.

(2) OJ C 180, 1.8.2009.