Asylum Seekers in Europe: M.S.S. v Belgium and Greece

The judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or ‘Court’) in M.S.S. v Belgium and Greece1 is rich with significance in several important areas relating to refugee and human rights law. MSS was an interpreter who had fled Afghanistan in early 2008 after, as he claimed, an attempt was made on his life by the Taliban. His first entry to Europe was through Greece, where he was fingerprinted on arrival but did not claim asylum. He travelled through France and made his asylum claim in Belgium in February 2009, where his fingerprints, registered on the Eurodac system, showed that he had passed through Greece. Pursuant to Council Regulation EC 343/2003 (‘the Dublin Regulation’),2 an order was made in Belgium that he be returned to Greece. MSS lodged challenges to this decision with the Belgian Aliens Appeals Board but his applications were...