English

Country Information in Asylum Procedures Quality as a Legal Requirement in the EUVII.4 SummaryThe criterion of using balanced and reliable COI sources in asylum procedures is nowfirmly anchored in both legislation and jurisprudence in the EU. Its main concreteincarnation is the requirement of using a variety of different sources, as foreseen by theProcedures Directive and echoed by the ECtHR and several senior courts’ jurisprudence.Most of the relevant case law refuses to establish an “order of preference” betweendifferent types of sources. The ECtHR, as well as some national courts have recentlyestablished standards for source assessment. It appears, furthermore, that over the pastfew years a number of national courts have become more vigilant even with regardto “official” (state, EU) sources and cautious scrutiny is gradually becoming a generalstandard, rather then the automatic acceptation of such information.52