Important decision
When evaluating the testimony of a person who has experienced sexual violence or other serious trauma, the authorities must take into account that person’s particular vulnerability. In its ruling, Case No. III. ÚS 3045/25, the Constitutional Court overturned the decisions of the Ministry of the Interior and the administrative courts in the case of a woman from Uganda who had applied for international protection in the Czech Republic. According to the Court, the authorities erred by evaluating the contradictions and gaps in her statements without regard to the possible consequences of the violence she had experienced.
The woman stated that she had been abducted, tortured, and repeatedly raped in Uganda. However, when reviewing her applications, the authorities pointed to ambiguities and contradictions in her statements. The Constitutional Court emphasized that an applicant’s vulnerability can directly affect their ability to recall details, describe events coherently, or respond during an interview. Administrative authorities must therefore recognize a potentially particularly vulnerable situation, adapt the conduct of the interview accordingly, and adjust the method of assessing credibility. In this case, the woman herself repeatedly pointed out that recalling the abduction and rape was traumatic for her, but the ministry failed to take this circumstance into account.
At the same time, the Constitutional Court criticized the authorities for relying on outdated information about the situation in Uganda when processing her repeated applications and for failing to sufficiently verify whether the woman could actually obtain effective protection there or safely relocate to another part of the country. According to the court, these decisions violated her right to human dignity and a fair trial, as well as the principle of non-refoulement. The ruling directly pertains to asylum proceedings, but its emphasis on a trauma-informed approach is also significant for the broader professional debate on working with particularly vulnerable individuals. However, one cannot automatically infer the same procedural rules from it for, say, criminal or child custody proceedings.
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