Measurements of Violence : The Application of Article 15(c) of the Qualification Directive on Individuals Fleeing War & its Implications for the Rule of Law

Abstract: This thesis examines the application of Article 15(c) of the Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on Standards for the Qualification of Third-Country Nationals or Stateless Persons as Beneficiaries of International Protection (the Qualification Directive). It uses a concept of ‘rule of law’ theory to examine and discuss what kind of difficulties that the application of Article 15(c) poses for the rule of law. Two different aspects of the rule of law are examined in relation to the aforementioned article of the Qualification Directive to determine what impact the article has on the rule of law in the European Union. One is the principle of legal certainty in relation to that the text of the provision is worded poorly for application by the relevant national authorities in the European Union Member States where it can be seen through the analysis of previous writings on the topic that the wording of Article 15(c) in fact does impact the rule of law and possibility to guarantee legal certainty for the individual applying for international protection. The second aspect of the rule of law that is examined in the principle of fairness or more specifically the principle of procedural fairness. It is shown through the research and analysis that the principle of procedural fairness is of utmost importance to uphold when dealing with decision-making in asylum matters and that Article 15(c) as it stands today is detrimental to the upholding of the principle in the European Union.