3/4/22, 10:54 AM CURIA - Documents Is the assessment purely an historic exercise of considering the circumstances which are said to have forced an applicant to leave the UNRWA area of operations when he [or she] did, or is it also an ex nunc forward-looking assessment of whether the applicant can avail himself [or herself] of such protection or assistance presently? If the answer to Question 1 is that assessment includes a forward-looking assessment, is it legitimate to rely analogically on the cessation clause in Article 11, so that where historically the applicant can show a qualifying reason as to why he or she left the UNRWA area, the evidential burden falls upon the Member State to show that such reason no longer holds? In order for there to be justifiable objective reasons for the departure of such a person related to UNRW[A]’s provision of protection or assistance, is it necessary to establish intentional infliction of harm or deprivation of assistance (by act or omission) on the part of UNRWA or the State in which it operates? Is it relevant to take into account the assistance provided to such persons by civil society actors such as NGOs?’ Procedure before the Court On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union. In accordance with Article 86(2) of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ 2019 C 384 I, p. 1), the Court is to continue to have jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings on requests from courts and tribunals of the United Kingdom made before the end of the transition period. Under Article 126 thereof, that period was to end on 31 December 2020. Furthermore, pursuant to Article 89(1) of that agreement, as regards those requests, the judgments and orders of the Court of Justice handed down before the end of the transitional period, as well as those handed down after the end of that period, are to have binding force in their entirety on and in the United Kingdom. Since the present request for a preliminary ruling was lodged at the Court Registry on 29 July 2020, the Court continues to have jurisdiction to rule on that request and the referring court is bound by the present judgment. On 25 May 2021, the Court addressed a question to the parties and other interested persons for the purposes of Article 23 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union in which they were invited to set out their views on the effect, if any, of the judgment of 13 January 2021, Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Refugee status of a stateless person of Palestinian origin) (C‑507/19, EU:C:2021:3) for the purposes of the answer, in particular, to the first question referred for a preliminary ruling. Replies to that question were submitted by NB and AB, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the European Commission. On 25 May 2021, the Court also addressed a question to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees concerning the legal obligations of UNRWA with regard to providing assistance to disabled children and measures actually put in place, particularly in Lebanon. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and NB and AB replied to that question. Consideration of the questions referred Preliminary observations Before answering the questions referred, it must, in the first place, be observed that, under Article 1 of Protocol (No 21) on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice (OJ 2008 C 115, p. 295), annexed to the EU and FEU Treaties, the United Kingdom benefits from a derogating regime encompassing all measures adopted within the framework of the area of freedom, security and justice and has the possibility of not taking part in the legislative procedures in that field. Although the United Kingdom, as stated in recital 38 of Directive 2004/83, took part in the adoption and application of that directive, it did, however, make use of that derogating regime for Directive 2011/95, which repealed Directive 2004/83 with effect from 21 December 2013. Thus, as stated in recital 50 of Directive 2011/95, the United Kingdom did not take part in the adoption of that directive and is not bound by it or subject to its application. Furthermore, it follows from Article 40 of Directive 2011/95 that Directive 2004/83 is repealed with effect from 21 December 2013 only for the Member States bound by Directive 2011/95. In those circumstances, it is Directive 2004/83 which continues to apply in respect of the United Kingdom, within the limits recalled in paragraphs 29 and 30 above. In the second place, it must also be noted that, as is apparent from recitals 3, 16 and 17 of Directive 2004/83, the Geneva Convention constitutes the cornerstone of the international legal regime for the protection of refugees and that the provisions of the directive for determining who qualifies for refugee status and the content thereof were adopted to guide the competent authorities of the Member States in the application of that convention on the basis of common concepts and criteria (judgments of 17 June 2010, Bolbol, C‑31/09, EU:C:2010:351, paragraph 37, and of 19 December 2012, Abed El Karem El Kott and Others, C‑364/11, EU:C:2012:826, paragraph 42). Directive 2004/83 must, for that reason, be interpreted in the light of its general scheme and purpose, and in a manner consistent with the Geneva Convention and the other relevant treaties referred to in Article 78(1) TFEU. As is apparent from recital 10 of Directive 2004/83, that directive must also be interpreted in a manner consistent with the rights recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights (judgments of 17 June 2010, Bolbol, C‑31/09, EU:C:2010:351, paragraph 38, and of 19 December 2012, Abed El Karem El Kott and Others, C‑364/11, EU:C:2012:826, paragraph 43). In the third place, it must be pointed out that Article 12(1)(a) of Directive 2004/83 corresponds, in substance, to Article 12(1)(a) of Directive 2011/95, with the result that the case-law concerning the latter provision is relevant to the interpretation of the former (see, by analogy, judgment of 13 January 2021, Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Refugee status of a stateless person of Palestinian origin), C‑507/19, EU:C:2021:3, paragraph 37). https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=254962&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=1850357 5/10