12/17/21, 3:16 PM CURIA - Documents InfoCuria Case-law English (en) Home > Search form > List of results > Documents Language of document : English ECLI:EU:C:2010:351 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Grand Chamber) 17 June 2010 (*) (Directive 2004/83/EC – Minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees – Stateless person of Palestinian origin who has not sought protection or assistance from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) – Application for refugee status – Refusal based on a failure to meet the conditions laid down in Article 1A of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed in Geneva on 28 July 1951 – Right of that stateless person to be recognised as a refugee on the basis of the second sentence of Article 12(1)(a) of Directive 2004/83) In Case C‑31/09, REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Articles 68 EC and 234 EC from the Fővárosi Bíróság (Hungary), made by decision of 15 December 2008, received at the Court on 26 January 2009, in the proceedings Nawras Bolbol v Bevándorlási és Állampolgársági Hivatal, THE COURT (Grand Chamber), composed of V. Skouris, President, J.N. Cunha Rodrigues (Rapporteur), K. Lenaerts, J.-C. Bonichot, R. Silva de Lapuerta, Presidents of Chambers, A. Rosas, P. Kūris, J.‑J. Kasel and M. Safjan, Judges, Advocate General: E. Sharpston, Registrar: B. Fülöp, Administrator, having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 20 October 2009, after considering the observations submitted on behalf of: Ms Bolbol, by G. Győző, ügyvéd, the Hungarian Government, by R. Somssich, M. Fehér and K. Borvölgyi, acting as Agents, the Belgian Government, by C. Pochet and T. Materne, acting as Agents, the German Government, by M. Lumma and N. Graf Vitzthum, acting as Agents, the French Government, by E. Belliard, G. de Bergues and B. Beaupère-Manokha, acting as Agents, the United Kingdom Government, by I. Rao, acting as Agent, the Commission of the European Communities, by B. Simon and M. Condou-Durande, acting as Agents, after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 4 March 2010, gives the following Judgment This reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 12(1)(a) of Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted (OJ 2004 L 304, p. 12; ‘the Directive’). The reference has been made in the course of proceedings between Ms Bolbol, a stateless person of Palestinian origin, and Bevándorlási és Állampolgársági Hivatal (Office for Immigration and Citizenship; ‘BAH’) concerning the refusal of BAH to grant Ms Bolbol’s application for refugee status. Legal context International law Convention relating to the Status of Refugees The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed in Geneva on 28 July 1951 (United Nations Treaty Series, Vol. 189, p. 150, No 2545 (1954)), entered into force on 22 April 1954. It was supplemented by the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees of 31 January 1967, which entered into force on 4 October 1967 (‘the Geneva Convention’). The first subparagraph of Article 1A(2) of the Geneva Convention provides that the term ‘refugee’ is to apply to any person who ‘owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it’. Article 1D of the Geneva Convention provides: ‘This Convention shall not apply to persons who are at present receiving from organs or agencies of the United Nations other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees protection or assistance. When such protection or assistance has ceased for any reason, without the position of such persons being definitively settled in accordance with the relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, these persons shall ipso facto be entitled to the benefits of this Convention.’ https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf;jsessionid=DF0BA87C25590D7EDAB2C5BE0DF67C8B?text=&docid=82833&pageIndex=0&… 1/6