The determination of competence in asylum procedures and the questionable Dublin system

The essay offers a critical discussion of the criteria for allocating the competence to assess asylum claims, so far employed in the Dublin system and confirmed in the May 2016 proposal of the European Commission. Indications coming from other fields of international cooperation in the adjudication of acts or status with transnational dimension are investigated in order to dismantle some assumptions on the feasibility of certain allocative criteria. A a ‘genuine link approach’ between the asylum seeker and the competent EU Member State is suggested, able to substitute the entry criterion and – in the same time – to address the main concerns of many Member States and of other relevant stakeholders. Additionally some relevant procedural issues are tackled, together with the debated topic of an effective implementation of the principle of 'solidarity and fair sharing of responsabilities' enshrined in Article 80 TFEU.