Is the cornerstone of the common european asylum system crumbling? - A study on the compliance of the Dublin II Regulation with human and fundamental rights provisions

general, this thesis is examining the Dublin II Regulation and whether the principles of mutual trust and mutual recognition, as imposed in the Regulation, might be in breach with human rights and fundamental freedoms and therefore jeopardize the protection of refugees and asylum seekers. With the examination of the cases M.S.S. against Belgium and Greece, as well as the case N.S.,M.E. and others against the Secretary of State for the Home Department, it became obvious, that mutual trust in the asylum system of another Member State and its compliance with human rights is no longer sufficient. Hence the automaticity in the inter-state cooperation in the field of asylum in the EU and especially in the allocation of the responsible Member State for an asylum application is longer justified. This calls for a reform of the Dublin system in order to guarantee the protection of refugees and asylum seekers in all MS.