Date: 18 December 2020
Court: Court of Administrative Appeal of Bordeaux
Citations: N° 20BX02193, 20BX02195
Short summary
In this judgement, the Court overturned the deportation order issued by the French department, Prefect of Haute-Garonne (“Prefect”), against Mr. Sheel on the grounds that it would subject him to a real risk of harm and even death given the high levels of air pollution in Bangladesh and the lack of access to adequate health care services, medication, and respiratory assistance equipment.
Summary by: Jodie Tang
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Weight of decision
Though an individual judgment, this decision holds immense weight in France because it was the first time the courts extended protection to someone fearful of returning home due to environmental conditions.
Key facts
Mr. Sheel, a name given to him by the media, is a Bangladeshi national who entered France in 2011 and lodged an asylum application. His application was rejected in 2013, but he was granted a temporary residence permit due to his state of health from 2015 to 2017. In June 2019, the Prefect refused to renew his residence permit and required Mr. Sheel to leave France within 30 days and return to Bangladesh. This decision was overturned by the Administrative Court of Toulouse, which was appealed by the Prefect to the Court of Administrative Appeal of Bordeaux.
Mr. Sheel suffers from a severe form of asthma and sleep apnea. Throughout his cases, however, the Prefect argued that medical evidence submitted by Mr. Sheel was inadequate to establish that he would not receive appropriate healthcare services in Bangladesh to treat his respiratory disease. He responded that, regardless of where he lived in Bangladesh, he would be unable to access appropriate medication, could not operate respiratory assistance devices in Bangladesh’s hot climate, and would have difficulty avoiding harmful air pollution.
Previous instances
On 15 June 2020, the Administrative Court of Toulouse annulled the decree of 18 June 2019 issued by the Prefect, where he refused to renew Mr. Sheel’s residence permit, ordered him to leave France and return to Bangladesh. The Court also overturned the decision of 5 August 2019 by the Prefect where he refused to grant Mr. Sheel’s request for family reunification with his wife. The Court ordered the Prefect to grant Mr. Sheel a residence permit pursuant to provision 11° of Article L.313-11 of the Code for the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right to Asylum (“Provision 11”) and ordered the State to pay 1,500€ to Mr. Sheel’s counsel.
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