Did the Court of Justice Open a Gateway to Europe for Refugees? Analysis of the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in EZ v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland (C-238/19)

Abstract

In the judgment in question, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for the first time ever carried out such broad interpretation of Article 9 (2) (2) (e) of Directive 2011/95/EU in the context of non-formalized refusal to perform military service by a young Syrian who escaped from his country of origin. The paper analyses the impact of the CJEU judgment on the functioning of the guarantee of the right to conscientious objection to military service within the EU asylum law. It also asks two key questions. First, in the light of the analysed judgment, should any potential Syrian conscript who in reality does not support the government (non-opportunist) and who evades military service be granted protection? Secondly, do all Syrian conscripts who join the army make themselves subject in the future to automatic exclusion from protection?

Keywords

• protection
• refugees
• directive 2011/95/eu
• right to conscientious objection to military service
• cjeu