Rubio appointed to the CNDA

Mr. Francisco Rubio, INGO lecturer, attorney-at-law, and former senior legal adviser of Médecins du Monde, has been appointed judge within the Cour Nationale du Droit d'Asile (CNDA). The CNDA is a French court responsible for screening and evaluating asylum seekers’ applications. Initially, an asylum seeker looking for protection and refuge in France can submit an application in front of the Office Français de Protection des Réfugiés et Apatrides (OFPRA). Should this application be rejected, the CNDA, with its three judges, provides a means for the asylum seeker to appeal. Of these three judges one is the judge-president, a judge who has served on either the administrative or judicial district courts. The other two judges are judge-assessors; one appointed by the Vice-President of the French State Council and the other appointed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Mr. Rubio has been appointed by the latter. The CNDA is one of the most prestigious French administrative jurisdictions and employs more than 8’000 people who help to process over 40’000 files each year. Each court session lasts one full day during which a dozen files are covered. Mr. Rubio’s presence is required in this court between three to ten times per month.