According to a legal opinion of the European Court of Justice, seriously ill people should not be deported from the EU if medical treatment in their home country is not effective. A verdict is still pending.
According to a legal opinion, a seriously ill third-country national may not be deported from the EU if his pain cannot be treated effectively at home. The responsible Advocate General at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg said on Thursday that the possible medical treatment there must be checked before deportation.
Seriously ill Russian complained to a Dutch court against deportation from the EU
It’s about the case of a Russian in the Netherlands. The man suffers from a rare form of blood cancer. In the Netherlands, his pain is treated with medicinal cannabis, which is not available in Russia. His application for asylum was rejected. He complained to a Dutch court that his deportation should be suspended.
The court stated that according to the doctors, medical cannabis was the only suitable pain therapy. The man fears that if he returns to Russia he will be in so much pain that he will not be able to eat or sleep. The Dutch court asked the CJEU to interpret the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The judgment of the European Court of Justice is still pending
The Advocate General now argued that deportation is not possible if there is no suitable treatment option in the country of origin and the person concerned therefore has to suffer significantly greater pain over the long term. The judges do not have to follow his expert opinion when making their decision, but they often use it as a guide. A date for the verdict has not yet been released.
