Author
The Asylum Act does not distinguish between the cessation and withdrawal of international protection. Grounds for cessation of asylum (Article 11 of the Recast Qualification Directive) and subsidiary protection (Article 16 of the Recast Qualification Directive) and grounds for withdrawal of asylum (Article 14 of the Recast Qualification Directive) and subsidiary protection (Article 19 of the Recast Qualification Directive) were transposed to the Asylum Act by two provisions:
- Article 15 of the Asylum Act titled Withdrawal of Asylum (Odňatie azylu), and
- Article 15b of the Asylum Act titled Revocation of Subsidiary Protection (Zrušenie doplnkovej ochrany).
This, inter alia, means that proceedings on withdrawal of asylum/revocation of subsidiary protection on the grounds of cessation of protection status are equivalent to proceedings on withdrawal of asylum/revocation of subsidiary protection on the grounds of withdrawal of protection status.
Grounds for cessation of asylum are established in Article 15(2)(a-f) of the Asylum Act, which provides that the MO shall withdraw asylum if:
- an asylum holder voluntarily re-availed himself or herself of the protection of the country of nationality,
- having lost his or her nationality, an asylum holder has voluntarily re-acquired,
- an asylum holder has acquired a new nationality, and enjoys the protection of the country of his or her new nationality,
- an asylum holder rejects without any grounds to avail himself or herself of the protection granted by the country of his or her nationality despite the fact that circumstances, for which he or she was granted asylum ceased to exist; this shall not apply when the asylum holder proves his or her serious reasons based on previous persecution on grounds of which he or she refuses the protection of the country of his or her nationality,
- an asylum holder is capable of returning to the country of his or her residence because the circumstances under which asylum was granted ceased to exist; this shall not apply when the asylum holder proves reasons of previous persecution on grounds of which he or she refuses to return to the country of his or her residence,
- an asylum holder is again voluntarily staying in the country he or she left for fear of persecution.
Grounds for cessation of subsidiary protection are established in the Article 15b(2)(a) of the Asylum Act, which provides that the MO shall revoke subsidiary protection if the circumstances, based on which the subsidiary protection was granted, ceased to exist or changed to such an extent that its further provision is not necessary; this shall not apply when the subsidiary protection holder proves his or her serious reasons based on previous serious harm for refusing the protection of the country of his or her origin.
The procedure of cessation of asylum or subsidiary protection (konanie o odňatí azylu and konanie o zrušení doplnkovej ochrany) shall commence at the instance of the MO.[1] Asylum or subsidiary protection lasts until the cessation procedure is completed and the decision is issued.[2] The MO must conduct an interview with a beneficiary of international protection before it makes a decision. The interview is conducted under the same conditions and procedural safeguards as in Regular Procedure[3] (See Regular Procedure: Personal Interview). The decision in the cessation procedure must be issued within the same time limits as those applicable to the regular procedure[4] (See Regular Procedure: General (scope, time limits)). A decision on cessation of international protection may be appealed by filing an administrative appeal to the administrative courts. The administrative appeal must be filed within 30 days of the notification of such a decision.[5] Filing the administrative appeal against the decision on cessation of international protection has an automatic suspensive effect.[6] Otherwise, the appeal system, including the time limits for issuing the decision, oral hearing and onward appeal, is the same as in the Regular Procedure: Appeal. Free legal assistance for beneficiaries of international protection who were issued a cessation decision is provided under the same conditions and in the same context as described in Regular Procedure: Legal assistance. The free legal assistance is guaranteed only in an appeal procedure by the Centre for Legal Aid. Legal assistance in the first instance and appeal procedure is predominantly provided by NGOs (mainly HRL and SHC), which are funded through projects.
There is no evidence that would indicate a systematic review of protection statuses.
[1] Article 15(1) and Article 15b(1) of the Asylum Act.
[2] Article 15(6) and Article 15b(5) of the Asylum Act.
[3] Article 19b in connection with Article 6 of the Asylum Act.
[4] Article 19b in connection with the Article 20(1) of the Asylum Act.
[5] Article 211(1) of the AJC.
[6] Article 213(1) of the AJC.