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CJEU - C 300/11 / Opinion

ZZ v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Typ
Opinion
Decision date
12/09/2012

Charta der Grundrechte der Europäischen Union

Title VI: Justice

Article 47 - Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial

VIEW FULL CASE
  • CJEU - C 300/11 / Opinion
    Key facts of the case:
    1. The present reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 30(2) of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC. (2)
    2. This reference was made in a dispute between ZZ and the Secretary of State for the Home Department (‘the Secretary of State’) concerning the Secretary of State’s decision to exclude ZZ from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on grounds of public security and to take an expulsion measure against him.
    3. By inviting the Court to decide to what extent a Member State may, invoking requirements relating to State security, refuse to disclose to a Union citizen the grounds of public security justifying an expulsion measure taken against him by that State, the present case raises the awkward problem of striking the right balance between the need for a Member State to protect the essential interests of its security and the guarantee of the procedural rights enjoyed by Union citizens.
    Results (sanctions) and key consequences of the case:
     
    In the light of the foregoing, I propose that the Court answer the question referred for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Appeal (England and Wales) (Civil Division) as follows:
     
    Article 30(2) of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC, read in the light of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Article 346(1)(a) TFEU, must be interpreted as permitting a Member State, in exceptional cases duly justified by the need to guarantee State security and subject to review by the national court, to prevent a Union citizen from being informed of the grounds of public security for a decision to expel him, whether in detail or in summary form, where the national procedural law includes techniques with which to accommodate, on the one hand, legitimate security concerns about the nature and sources of intelligence information taken into account in the adoption of the decision concerned and, on the other hand, the need to allow the individual to benefit sufficiently from procedural rules.
     
    It is for the national court, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, to use all the procedural tools available to it to adapt the level of disclosure of the grounds of public security to the requirements relating to State security.
  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

     

    81-115