Case Law

This case concerned age-assessment procedures and the placement in adult detention centres of two minors who arrived in Italy.

21 July 2022 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Topic(s): Immigration Detention - Prison or detention conditions - Unaccompanied / Separated children | Countries: Gambia - Guinea - Italy

The Court, ruling under the urgent preliminary ruling procedure, holds that the Procedures Directive (4) precludes legislation of a Member State under which, in the event of a declaration of a state of war or a state of emergency or in the event of a declaration of an emergency due to a mass influx of foreigners, illegally staying third-country nationals are, de facto, denied the opportunity of having access to the procedure for examining an application for international protection in the territory of that Member State. Furthermore, the Court holds that the Reception Directive (5) precludes legislation of a Member State under which, in the event of such a declaration, an applicant for asylum may be detained on the sole ground that he or she is staying in the territory of that Member State illegally.

30 June 2022 | Judicial Body: European Union: Court of Justice of the European Union | Legal Instrument: 2013 Recast Asylum Procedures Directive (EU) | Topic(s): Immigration Detention - Reception - Refugee status determination (RSD) / Asylum procedures - Right to liberty and security - State of emergency | Countries: Lithuania

Having regard to the information submitted by the parties, the Court finds that at first all the applicants were detained with a view to being removed, and their detention was presumably carried out initially in good faith and in compliance with Article 5 § 1 (f) of the Convention. However, the length of the applicants’ detention, as summarised in the relevant part of the Appendix, was from fourteen to sixteen months and the Government submitted no information about any actions taken in pursuit of the applicants’ administrative removal during these periods. Accordingly, in the Court’s view, the length of the applicants’ detention was not demonstrably related to the purpose pursued. 51. Furthermore, as regards the applicants’ complaint under Article 5 § 4 of the Convention concerning the lack of an effective procedure for review of detention, the Court notes that nothing in the available materials indicates that the applicants’ continued detention had been periodically reviewed or that they had indeed access to any procedure for such review. 52. Accordingly, the Court concludes that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 1 (f) and Article 5 § 4 of the Convention.

7 December 2021 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Topic(s): Deportation / Forcible return - Eritreans - Immigration Detention | Countries: Eritrea - Russian Federation

The Court considers that, in these circumstances, the applicant may be regarded as no longer wishing to pursue his application, within the meaning of Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 in fine, the Court finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols which require the continued examination of the case. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list and to discontinue the application of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court. For these reasons, the Court, unanimously, Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.

16 November 2021 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Topic(s): Illegal entry - Immigration Detention - Unaccompanied / Separated children | Countries: Afghanistan - Hungary

The Court found violations of articles 3, 5§1, and 5§5, when the applicant was kept in a cell measuring only 1.4 meters in pre-trial detention, placed in a metal cage during appellate proceedings, was not released immediately despite being granted refugee status in Sweden, and when the applicant had no available compensation under domestic law.

18 March 2021 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Topic(s): Immigration Detention - Prison or detention conditions | Countries: Ukraine - Uzbekistan

The case concerned the applicants’ confinement in the Röszke transit zone on the border with Serbia in April-August 2017. The Court found, in particular, that the lack of food provided to R.R. and the conditions of stay of the other applicants (a pregnant woman and children) had led to a violation of Article 3. It also found that that the applicants’ stay in the transit zone had amounted to a de facto deprivation of liberty and that the absence of any formal decision of the authorities and any proceedings by which the lawfulness of their detention could have been decided speedily by a court had led to violations of Article 5.

2 March 2021 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Topic(s): Immigration Detention | Countries: Hungary

Hungary has failed to fulfil its obligations: – in providing that applications for international protection from third-country nationals or stateless persons who, arriving from Serbia, wish to access, in its territory, the international protection procedure, may be made only in the transit zones of Röszke and Tompa, while adopting a consistent and generalised administrative practice drastically limiting the number of applicants authorised to enter those transit zones daily; – in establishing a system of systematic detention of applicants for international protection in the transit zones of Röszke and Tompa, without observing the guarantees provided for in Article 24(3) and Article 43 of Directive 2013/32 and Articles 8, 9 and 11 of Directive 2013/33; – in allowing the removal of all third-country nationals staying illegally in its territory, with the exception of those of them who are suspected of having committed a criminal offence, without observing the procedures and safeguards laid down in Article 5, Article 6(1), Article 12(1) and Article 13(1) of Directive 2008/115; – in making the exercise by applicants for international protection who fall within the scope of Article 46(5) of Directive 2013/32 of their right to remain in its territory subject to conditions contrary to EU law.

17 December 2020 | Judicial Body: European Union: Court of Justice of the European Union | Topic(s): Access to procedures - Illegal entry - Immigration Detention | Countries: Hungary

For these reasons, the court, unanimously: Decides to join the applications; Declares inadmissible: (i) the first and eighth applicants’ complaints that their detention under the domestic court’s detention orders did not comply with Article 5 § 1 of the Convention and (ii) the sixth, seventh and ninth applicants’ complaints that their detention under the domestic court’s detention orders prior to 10 August, 5 November and 22 May 2012 respectively did not comply with Article 5 § 1 of the Convention; Declares the remainder of the applications admissible; Holds that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention in respect of second to ninth applicants, on account of lack of records of their arrest and detention prior to the issuance of detention orders in respect of them; Holds that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention in respect of the second to fifth applicants on account of their detention under the domestic court’s detention orders in the absence of a decision ordering their expulsion; Holds that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention in respect of the sixth applicant on account of his detention from 10 August to 17 October 2012, in respect of the seventh applicant on account of his detention from 5 to 23 November and in respect of the ninth applicant on account of his detention from 22 May to 17 October 2012; Holds that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 4 of the Convention in respect of the first and the sixth to ninth applicants.

18 June 2020 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Topic(s): Asylum-seekers - Immigration Detention | Countries: Somalia - Ukraine