Supreme court temporarily halts return of 6 third-country nationals from Ukraine | Domestic

All third-country nationals from Ukraine should actually have left today or applied for asylum. But dozens of third-country nationals went to court again and many of those cases are still ongoing. In the cases where judgments have already been given, judges disagree on the question of whether third-country nationals may be sent away. In the meantime, the outgoing cabinet simply stuck to the policy of doing so.

The first municipalities started sending third-country nationals away from reception on Tuesday. But that led to confusing situations: there are also dozens of third-country nationals who were still allowed to stay. This concerns third-country nationals who are still allowed to stay by the court, or third-country nationals who are still waiting for the judge’s ruling.

And six third-country nationals have now been added. These are people who have appealed against the judge’s decision to send them away or where the ministry has appealed against the decision that they should not be sent away. These cases have ended up before the Council of State, which, as the highest court in the country, will look at them again.

In these cases, the country’s Council of State has decided to pause the government’s policy until there is more clarity. This is striking, because the Council of State ruled in January that the ministry should have changed the policy for third-country nationals.

That also creates a confusing situation. In principle, no appeal is possible against the decision of the Council of State. But after that judgment, all third-country nationals received a document containing the decision to send them back. And third-country nationals were allowed to bring legal proceedings against that document again. This has now led to the Council of State coming up with a different opinion.

Clarity must now come from the European Court of Justice. The Ukrainians are taken care of under a European directive, which makes it logical that the final decision will be made by the highest court in Europe. However, it is unlikely that the judge will provide answers in the short term. Some courts already expressed the expectation that this would not be possible before next year, but there is an option to request urgency.

The ruling of the Council of State does not mean that all third-country nationals from Ukraine may remain in the Netherlands for the time being. The highest court in the Netherlands may only make these types of rulings for the people who have appealed. But the fact that the Council of State has now ruled the same in six cases provides guidance for the rest, says a spokesperson.

It is ultimately up to the outgoing cabinet to decide whether to pause the policy for all third-country nationals or simply continue with it. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Security said that the ruling was being looked into. “In a short period of time, the Council of State has made two contradictory statements. This lack of clarity does not help anyone at all. It does not contribute to trust and governance. We are now looking at what exactly this means.”

It is not yet clear what will happen to the third-country nationals who have already left or are still in municipal shelter. The ministry would first send a letter to municipalities on Tuesday evening about all the uncertainties surrounding third-country nationals, but it is not expected that this will happen yet.

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