Judgment_paragraph 55 · X v Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid (C-69/21)

55Second, Article 5 of Directive 2008/115, which is a general rule binding on the Member States as soon as they implement that directive, obliges the competent national authority to observe, at all stages of the return procedure, the principle of non-refoulement, which is guaranteed, as a fundamental right, in Article 18 of the Charter, read in conjunction with Article 33 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed in Geneva on 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, and in Article 19(2) of the Charter. That is the case, in particular, as recalled in paragraph 53 of the present judgment, where that authority is contemplating, after hearing the person concerned, the adoption of a return decision in relation to that person (see, to that effect, judgment of 17 December 2020, Commission v Hungary (Reception of applicants for international protection) (C‑808/18, EU:C:2020:1029, paragraph 250 and the case-law cited).