JOINT CONCURRING OPINION OF JUDGES SAJÓ, VUČINIĆ AND LEMMENS

1. We voted with our colleagues in finding that there would be no violation of Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention in the event of the removal of the applicant to Italy.

However, with regard to the complaint based on Article 8, our reasoning differs somewhat from that of our colleagues.

2. The majority does not take a clear stance on whether the applicant can be considered to enjoy “family life” with his two sisters. It bases its reasoning under Article 8 on the assumption “that the applicant and his sisters had maintained family ties when they were living in Syria” and the assumption “that additional elements of dependence could be demonstrated in [his] case” (see paragraph 49 of the judgment). The requirement of “additional elements of dependence” is in line with what the Court decided in other cases involving adult members of a family (see, for example, F.N. v. the United Kingdom ( dec. ), no. 3202/09, § 36, 17 September 2013 (quoted in the same paragraph 49); and Senchishak v. Finland , no. 5049/12, § 55, 18 November 2014).

We would prefer to be more affirmative. Under certain circumstances the relationship between siblings falls within the concept of “family life” (see Vasquez v. Switzerland , no. 1785/08, § 48, 26 November 2013 ). We see no reason to doubt that the applicant and his two sisters had an effective family life in Syria, before they each left for Switzerland. In this regard we are mindful of the fact that there may be different conceptions of what constitutes a “family” in the various parts of the world. For the purpose of Article 8 of the Convention, it is sufficient in our opinion for there to exist in practice close personal ties between the family members (see K. and T. v. Finland [GC], no. 25702/94, § 150, ECHR 2001 ‑ VII ). In any event, we do not see why the relationship between the applicant and his two sisters, once they were reunited in Switzerland, should not be considered as family life. In this regard we attach weight to the circumstance that the three siblings seem to be the only members of the family living in Switzerland, a fact which should normally lead to a strengthening of the ties between them.

Moreover, the applicant claims that, because of his mental health, he is dependent on the emotional support of his sisters (see paragraph 41 of the judgment). The sisters themselves confirmed that their brother spends almost his whole time with them and their families, and that they provide him with emotional support so that he can recover from his trauma (see paragraph 9 of the judgment). We find that this information, not disputed by the Government, contains additional elements illustrative of the existence of family life.

3. When it comes to the examination of whether the respondent State complied with its positive obligation under Article 8, the majority gives the impression that it simply refers to “the margin of appreciation afforded to States in immigration matters”, in order then to conclude “that a fair balance has been struck between the competing interests at stake, namely the personal interests of the applicant, in establishing any family life in Switzerland on the one hand and, on the other, the public order interests of the respondent Government in controlling immigration” (see paragraph 50 of the judgment).

In our opinion, it is not sufficient to refer to the margin of appreciation in order to come to the conclusion that a fair balance has been struck. We would prefer to see a more explicit assessment of the proportionality of the refusal to allow the applicant to stay with his family, in the light of the Government ’ s interest in controlling immigration.

On this point, what made us join the majority in its conclusion is the fact that while the ties between the applicant and his sisters may now be relatively strong, they cannot be considered so strong as to require the applicant ’ s continued presence in Switzerland. While the majority is of the opinion that there has not been enough time “to establish and develop strong family ties in Switzerland” (see paragraph 49 of the judgment), we would like to point to the fact that the applicant and his sisters lived for a number of years in different countries, obviously without being in close contact with each other. The applicant has not shown that he would suffer in an unacceptable way from the separation from his sisters, a situation he has already experienced in the past.