Expulsion of EU Citizens on the Basis of Secret Information: Article 47 of the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights Requires Disclosure of the Essence of the Case

Abstract

This article discusses the judgment of the Court of Justice (CJEU) in ZZ v Secretary of State for the Home Department. The CJEU held in this judgment that Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights requires that the essence of the grounds of the decision to restrict an EU citizen’s right to free movement on national security grounds, is disclosed. According to the Court this requirement cannot yield to the protection of the Member State’s national security. The article argues that the judgment in ZZ is relevant for other fields of EU law where secret information plays a role. Furthermore it examines how the CJEU’s judgment relates to the ECtHR’s case law and what the requirement to disclose the essence of the case entails.