[JURIST] The European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website] ruled [judgment] Tuesday that countries are not required to issue visas to refugees on humanitarian grounds even if they are facing torture or inhumane treatment. The case arose surrounding a Syrian family seeking asylum in Belgium. The court stated that while states may choose to grant asylum under their own national law, “[m]ember States are not required, under EU law, to grant a humanitarian visa to persons who wish to enter their territory with a view to applying for asylum….” This ruling is in direct conflict with the advice of Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi, who stated last month that member states had to grant visas on humanitarian grounds [DW report] if it could be proven that they were escaping torture and danger.

The rights of refugee and migrant populations has emerged as one of the most significant humanitarian issues around the world. In January the Slovenian parliament passed amendments to the Aliens Act [JURIST report] to enact emergency measures to deny refugees entry into the country and to expel those whom did not have their asylum claims properly assessed. In November experts questioned humanitarian conditions at Grecian migrant camps when a 66-year-old woman and six-year-old boy died [JURIST report] in a camp fire. Last April several aid organizations urged [JURIST report] EU leaders to stop deportations of migrants from Greece to Turkey and to stop detaining asylum seekers. Also in April Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] that the first deportation of 66 people from the Greek island of Chios to Turkey was “riddled with an array of irregularities.” In April former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged [JURIST report] world leaders to accept more refugees and to combat the growing international anti-refugee sentiments. That same month, an independent UN human rights expert encouraged EU leaders to remain steadfast [JURIST report] in their obligations to handle the recent influx of migrants to the EU.