Author
The LITP defines safe third country as a country where the applicant is safe from persecution or the risk of suffering serious harm and where he or she is protected from refoulement, and the possibility exists to access an effective procedure to being granted protection, pursuant to the 1951 Convention.[1]
Whether the conditions have been met to apply the concept of safe third country is established separately for each application. This is done by assessing whether a country meets the abovementioned conditions and by assessing whether a connection exists between that country and the applicant, on the basis of which it may reasonably be expected that he or she could request international protection there, taking into account all the facts and circumstances of his or her application.
The applicant will be informed timely of the application of the safe third country concept, so that he or she is able to challenge it in view of the specific characteristics of his or her personal circumstances.
The Ministry of Interior shall issue an applicant whose application is dismissed a document in the language of the safe third country, informing the competent State bodies of that country that his or her application has not been examined in substance in the Republic of Croatia. If the safe third country refuses to accept the foreigner, a procedure would be conducted in Croatia, i.e., a decision shall be issued on the substance of the application pursuant to the provisions of LITP.
The Ministry has an obligation to regularly inform the European Commission about the countries to which the concept of safe third country has been applied. According to the Ministry of Interior, in 2023 the concept of safe third country has not been applied.[2]The LITP also provides a definition of the concept of safe European third country.[3] It defines the latter as a country that has ratified and applies the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), including standards on effective remedy, and has established an effective procedure for the approval of protection pursuant to the 1951 Convention. It shall be determined whether the conditions have been met for the application of the concept of European safe third country for each application individually, assessing whether a country meets the above-mentioned conditions. The application of an applicant who entered Croatian territory unlawfully from a European safe third country shall be dismissed taking into account respect for the principle of non-refoulement, and the special circumstances of a humanitarian or political character, as well as the rules of international public law. The applicant must be informed in a timely manner of the application of the European safe third country concept, so that he/she is able to challenge it in view of his/her personal circumstances. If the Ministry of Interior dismisses the application of the European safe third country concept, it shall issue the applicant a document in the language of the European safe third country, informing the State bodies of that country that the application has not been examined in substance in Croatia. In addition, the Ministry of Interior must regularly inform the European Commission about the countries to which the concept of European safe third country has been applied.
[1] Article 45 LITP.
[2] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 8 March 2024.
[3] Article 46 LITP.