Ecrthr case summaries

ECtHR - Diallo v Czech Republic, Application No. 20493/07
Country of applicant: Guinea

This case concerned access to an effective remedy in the context of expulsion proceedings from the Czech Republic. It deals with access to an effective remedy and the reliance on Art. 13 ECHR for arguable claims under Article 3 ECHR on the basis that the Appellants would be ill-treated if returned to Guinea. The Court held that there was a violation of Article 13 of the Convention in conjunction with Article 3.

Date of decision: 28-11-2011
ECtHR - M. and Others v. Bulgaria, Application No. 41416/08
Country of applicant: Afghanistan, Armenia

M’s detention pending deportation, for over 2 years and 8 months, was processed without sufficient safeguards against arbitrariness and delay, resulting in four separate violations of the Convention.

Date of decision: 26-10-2011
ECtHR - Geleri v. Romania, Application No. 33118/05
Country of applicant: Turkey

The case concerns the expulsion of a refugee on the grounds of national security, under an order that did not set out reasons and resulted in violations of Art. 8 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 of the ECHR.

Date of decision: 15-09-2011
ECtHR - R.U. v. Greece, Application No. 2237/08
Country of applicant: Turkey

The case concerned detention and detention conditions in Greece for a Turkish asylum seeker of Kurdish origin, who had been tortured in Turkey, and the conduct of the asylum procedure.

Date of decision: 07-09-2011
ECtHR - Bardi v Spain, Application No. 66167/09

The case concerns judicial proceedings that ended with the granting of guardianship of a child from the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf to a Spanish host family, after a long period of uncertainty and despite her biological mother’s request for her return. The Court found violation of Article 8 in this regard.

Date of decision: 24-08-2011
ECtHR – Al-Skeini and Others v. the United Kingdom, Application No. 55721/07, 7 July 2011
Country of applicant: Iraq

The applicants were the relatives of Iraqi civilians killed by British soldiers in Iraq in 2003 during British security operations. The Court held that the deceased fell within the jurisdiction of the UK within the meaning of Article 1 ECHR, and that the UK had breached its obligation under Article 2 to carry out an adequate and effective investigation into the deaths with respect to the first five applicants.

Date of decision: 07-07-2011
ECtHR - Rahimi v. Greece, Application No. 8687/08
Country of applicant: Afghanistan

Inadequate care and unlawful detention of an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum: the case concerned the conditions in which a minor from Afghanistan, who had entered Greece illegally, was held in the Pagani adult detention centre on the island of Lesbos.

Date of decision: 05-07-2011
ECtHR - Saidoun and Fawsie v. Greece, Application Nos. 40083/07 and 40080/07
Country of applicant: Lebanon, Syria
Keywords: Refugee Status

Refusal to grant social security to political refugees was in breach of the Convention.

Date of decision: 28-01-2011
ECtHR - M.S.S. v Belgium and Greece [GC], Application No. 30696/09
Country of applicant: Afghanistan

This case examined the compatibility of the Dublin II Regulation with the European Convention on Human Rights regarding transfers to Greece under the Dublin II Regulation. The Court found that there was a violation of Article 3 ECHR by the Greece Government because of the applicant’s conditions of detention, violation of Article 3 ECHR by Greece concerning the applicant’s living conditions in Greece, violation of Article 13 taken in conjunction with Article 3 ECHR against Greece because of the deficiencies in the asylum procedure followed in the applicant’s case and the risk of his expulsion to Afghanistan without any serious examination of the merits of his asylum application and without any access to an effective remedy. The Court also found in relation to Belgium that there was a violation of Article 3 by sending the applicant back to Greece and exposing him to risks linked to the deficiencies in the asylum procedure in that State, also held against Belgium a violation of Article 3 for sending him to Greece and exposing him to detention and living conditions there that were in breach of that ECHR article. The Court also found a violation of Article 13 ECHR taking in conjunction with Article 3 ECHR against Belgium.

Date of decision: 21-01-2011