# C_2017309EN.01001701.xml

| 18.9.2017 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 309/17 |
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18.9.2017

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 309/17

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Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 26 July 2017 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Minden — Germany) — Tsegezab Mengesteab v Bundesrepublik Deutschland

(Case C-670/16) (1)

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((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 - Determination of the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection made in one of the Member States by a third-country national - Article 20 - Start of the determination process - Lodging an application for international protection - Report prepared by the authorities that reached the competent authorities - Article 21(1) - Time limits for making a take charge request - Transfer of responsibility to another Member State - Article 27 - Remedy - Scope of judicial review))

(2017/C 309/22)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Referring court

Verwaltungsgericht Minden

Parties to the main proceedings

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Tsegezab Mengesteab

Applicant:

Defendant: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Defendant:

Operative part of the judgment

Operative part of the judgment

| 1. | Article 27(1) of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person, read in the light of recital 19 thereof, must be interpreted as meaning that an applicant for international protection may rely, in the context of an action brought against a decision to transfer him, on the expiry of a period laid down in Article 21(1) of that regulation, even if the requested Member State is willing to take charge of that applicant. |
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1.

Article 27(1) of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person, read in the light of recital 19 thereof, must be interpreted as meaning that an applicant for international protection may rely, in the context of an action brought against a decision to transfer him, on the expiry of a period laid down in Article 21(1) of that regulation, even if the requested Member State is willing to take charge of that applicant.

| 2. | Article 21(1) of Regulation No 604/2013 must be interpreted as meaning that a take charge request cannot validly be made more than three months after the application for international protection has been lodged, even if that request is made within two months of receipt of a Eurodac hit within the meaning of that article. |
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2.

Article 21(1) of Regulation No 604/2013 must be interpreted as meaning that a take charge request cannot validly be made more than three months after the application for international protection has been lodged, even if that request is made within two months of receipt of a Eurodac hit within the meaning of that article.

| 3. | Article 20(2) of Regulation No 604/2013 must be interpreted as meaning that an application for international protection is deemed to have been lodged if a written document, prepared by a public authority and certifying that a third-country national has requested international protection, has reached the authority responsible for implementing the obligations arising from that regulation, and as the case may be, if only the main information contained in such a document, but not that document or a copy thereof, has reached that authority. |
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3.

Article 20(2) of Regulation No 604/2013 must be interpreted as meaning that an application for international protection is deemed to have been lodged if a written document, prepared by a public authority and certifying that a third-country national has requested international protection, has reached the authority responsible for implementing the obligations arising from that regulation, and as the case may be, if only the main information contained in such a document, but not that document or a copy thereof, has reached that authority.

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(1)  OJ C 104, 3.4.2017.

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