Human Rights Guide

Case

Saadi v. Italy

European Court of Human Rights
28 February 2008

Facts

The applicant, Mr Saadi was detained as part of an immigration procedure whilst his asylum application was being processed.

Complaint

Mr Saadi alleged that he had been detained unlawfully at the detention center, thus in breach of Article 5(1) of the Convention.

Court's ruling

General principles:

The Court explained that for the deprivation of liberty to comply with the Convention, the following criteria must be fulfilled:

The detention must be in accordance with one of the permitted grounds of the Convention listed in Article 5.

The detention must be lawful, namely the detention must be allowed and the proper procedures must be provided by the national laws.

The detention also must not be arbitrary, meaning:

  • it must be carried out in good faith
  • the order to detain and the execution of the detention must genuinely conform with the purpose of the restrictions permitted by the relevant sub-paragraph of Article 5 § 1
  • the place and conditions of detention must be appropriate for the detention in question
  • the length of the detention must not exceed that reasonably required for the purpose pursued

In the present case the Court concluded that the detention complied with all the above-mentioned requirements.

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