Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) 19 March 2019, C-163/17 (Abubacarr Jawo v Bundesrepublik Deutschland.)

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The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that an asylum seeker 'absconds' under Article 29(2) of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 when they deliberately evade transfer authorities, a condition that may be presumed if the applicant leaves allocated accommodation without notice. The Court further held that the six-month transfer time limit may be extended to 18 months via unilateral notification to the responsible Member State, and that Article 4 of the Charter precludes transfers only if systemic or individual deficiencies would result in a situation of extreme material poverty. Consequently, applicants may rely on the expiry of transfer time limits in judicial review proceedings to challenge the lawfulness of a transfer decision.AI