You have the right to an effective remedy against a negative asylum decision, refusal of entry, or any other complaint related to a breach of your human rights.
The correct procedure for making a complaint depends on the type of violation. If the violation occurs due to an unlawful decision by the Police and the Migration Office , you can challenge the decision through the Regional Administrative Court. These decisions may include a:
- negative asylum decision
- decision to consider your asylum application inadmissible or transfer you to another EU Member State under the Dublin procedure
- decision to revoke your international protection status
- decision to reject your application for family reunification
- administrative expulsion from the territory of the Slovak Republic and an entry ban
Human rights violations may also occur in other ways during the asylum procedure. For example, they may result from the conditions in which you are held or treatment by the Police. In such cases, you should follow the relevant complaint mechanisms.
It is important to keep in mind that you should first complain at the local level, to Slovak authorities and courts. You can only file a complaint to international and European institutions after you have exhausted all domestic remedies in Slovakia. International and European legal remedies are not reachable as a result of an appeal mechanism to the domestic remedies but they work on the principle of subsidiarity. That also means that new application starting new lawsuit processes is needed at the international level and not a continuation of appeal processes.
About this section
This section of the Guide will explain how to appeal a negative asylum decision or other decisions by the Migration Office or the Ministry of Interior before Slovak courts, how to apply for state legal aid for court proceedings, and how to make complaints if your human rights have been violated in any other way during your asylum procedure.