Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 6 July 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État – Belgium) – XXX v Commissaire général aux réfugiés et aux apatrides

(Case C-8/22, ¹ Commissaire général aux réfugiés et aux apatrides (Refugee who has committed a serious crime))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Directive 2011/95/EU – Standards for granting refugee status or subsidiary protection status – Article 14(4)(b) – Revocation of refugee status – Third-country national convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime – Danger to the community – Proportionality test)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Conseil d’État

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: XXX

Defendant: Commissaire général aux réfugiés et aux apatrides

Operative part of the judgment

1.    Article 14(4)(b) of Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted

    must be interpreted as meaning that the existence of a danger to the community of the Member State in which the third-country national concerned is present cannot be regarded as established by the mere fact that he or she has been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime.

2.    Article 14(4)(b) of Directive 2011/95

    must be interpreted as meaning that the application of that provision is subject to the competent authority establishing that the threat which the third-country national concerned represents to one of the fundamental interests of the society of the Member State in which he or she is present is genuine, present and sufficiently serious and that the revocation of refugee status constitutes a measure that is proportionate to that threat.

____________

¹ OJ C 148, 4.4.2022.