Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2010:119
Date: 2010-03-04
Language of the case: Hungarian
Subject matter: Asylum policy;Area of freedom, security and justice
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Hungary

Summary of the Judgment Visas, asylum, immigration – Asylum policy – Refugee status or subsidiary protection status – Directive 2004/83 (Council Directive 2004/83, Art. 12(1)(a), first sentence) For the purposes of the first sentence of Article 12(1)(a) of Directive 2004/83 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, a person receives protection or assistance from an agency of the United Nations other than UNHCR, when that person has actually availed himself of that protection or assistance. Article 1D of the Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees, to which Article 12(1)(a) of the directive refers, merely excludes from the scope of that convention those persons who are at present receiving protection or assistance from an organ or agency of the United Nations other than UNHCR. It follows from the clear wording of Article 1D of the Geneva Convention that only those persons who have actually availed themselves of the assistance provided by UNRWA come within the clause excluding refugee status set out therein, which must, as such, be construed narrowly and cannot therefore also cover persons who are or have been eligible to receive protection or assistance from that agency. (see paras 50-51, 53, operative part)