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CJEU Case C-256/11 / Judgment

Murat Deveci and Others v Bundesministerium für Inneres
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (Grand Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
15/11/2011

Χάρτης των Θεμελιωδών Δικαιωμάτων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης

Title II: Freedoms

Article 7 - Respect for private and family life

Title VII: General provisions

Article 51 - Field of application

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  • CJEU Case C-256/11 / Judgment
    Key facts of the case:
     
    Reference for a preliminary ruling: Verwaltungsgerichtshof - Austria.

    Citizenship of the Union - Right of residence of nationals of third countries who are family members of Union citizens - Refusal based on the citizen’s failure to exercise the right to freedom of movement - Possible difference in treatment compared with EU citizens who have exercised their right to freedom of movement - EEC-Turkey Association Agreement - Article 13 of Decision No 1/80 of the Association Council - Article 41 of the Additional Protocol - ‘Standstill’ clauses.
     
    Outcome of the case:

     

    On those grounds, the Court (Grand Chamber) hereby rules:

    1. European Union law and, in particular, its provisions on citizenship of the Union, must be interpreted as meaning that it does not preclude a Member State from refusing to allow a third country national to reside on its territory, where that third country national wishes to reside with a member of his family who is a citizen of the Union residing in the Member State of which he has nationality, who has never exercised his right to freedom of movement, provided that such refusal does not lead, for the Union citizen concerned, to the denial of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of the rights conferred by virtue of his status as a citizen of the Union, which is a matter for the referring court to verify.
    2. Article 41(1) of the Additional Protocol, signed in Brussels on 23 November 1970 and concluded, approved and confirmed on behalf of the Community by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2760/72 of 19 December 1972, must be interpreted as meaning that the enactment of new legislation more restrictive that the previous legislation, which, for its part, relaxed earlier legislation concerning the conditions for the exercise of the freedom of establishment of Turkish nationals at the time of the entry into force of that protocol in the Member State concerned must be considered to be a ‘new restriction’ within the meaning of that provision.
  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    3) If a national court considers, in the light of the circumstances of a case before it, that the situation of the family members of a citizen of the Union is covered by Union law, it must examine whether refusing those family members a right of residence prejudices the right to respect for private and family life provided for in Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. On the other hand, if it takes the view that that situation does not fall within the ambit of Union law, it must undertake that examination in the light of Article 8(1) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. All the Member States are, after all, parties to that convention, which enshrines the right to respect for private and family life in Article 8.

    ...

    70) As a preliminary point, it must be observed that in so far as Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’), concerning respect for private and family life, contains rights which correspond to rights guaranteed by Article 8(1) of the ECHR, the meaning and scope of Article 7 of the Charter are to be the same as those laid down by Article 8(1) of the ECHR, as interpreted by the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (Case C‑400/10 PPU McB. [2010] ECR I-0000, paragraph 53).

    71) However, it must be borne in mind that the provisions of the Charter are, according to Article 51(1) thereof, addressed to the Member States only when they are implementing European Union law. Under Article 51(2), the Charter does not extend the field of application of European Union law beyond the powers of the Union, and it does not establish any new power or task for the Union, or modify powers and tasks as defined in the Treaties. Accordingly, the Court is called upon to interpret, in the light of the Charter, the law of the European Union within the limits of the powers conferred on it (McB., paragraph 51, see also Joined Cases C-483/09 and C-1/10 Gueye and Salmerón Sánchez [2011] ECR I‑0000, paragraph 69).

    72) Thus, in the present case, if the referring court considers, in the light of the circumstances of the disputes in the main proceedings, that the situation of the applicants in the main proceedings is covered by European Union law, it must examine whether the refusal of their right of residence undermines the right to respect for private and family life provided for in Article 7 of the Charter. On the other hand, if it takes the view that that situation is not covered by European Union law, it must undertake that examination in the light of Article 8(1) of the ECHR.