BERDZENISHVILI AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA - 14594/07 (Judgment (Merits) : Court (Third Section)) [2016] ECHR 1134 (20 December 2016)

BERDZENISHVILI AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA - 14594/07 (Judgment (Merits) : Court (Third Section)) [2016] ECHR 1134 (20 December 2016)

The Court found that, except for certain applicants who left voluntarily or were not subject to expulsion orders, the applicants were subjected to an administrative practice of arrest, detention, and expulsion of Georgian nationals in Russia in 2006, without reasonable and objective examination of individual cases, amounting to collective expulsion in violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4. No violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 was found as applicants were not lawfully resident or not expelled. The Court also found violations of Article 5 §§ 1 and 4 regarding the right to liberty and security for those detained.

Citation
[2016] ECHR 1134
Parties
Applicants: Berdzenishvili and others; Respondent: Russian Federation
Jurisdiction
European Union
Judgment Date
20 December 2016
Procedural Posture
Joined Individual Applications Under Article 34 of the European Convention on Human Rights / Merits Judgment by Chamber, Third Section, European Court of Human Rights
Outcome
Partly violation, partly no violation, applications joined, one struck out, one continued by heir.
Legal Topics
Collective Expulsion, Right to Liberty and Security, Procedural Guarantees in Expulsion, Administrative Practice, Discrimination Based on Nationality
Human Rights Law Immigration Law International Law Collective Expulsion Right to Liberty and Security Procedural Guarantees in Expulsion Administrative Practice Discrimination Based on Nationality

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Parties

Berdzenishvili and others

Applicants

Russian Federation

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Joined Individual Applications Under Article 34 of the European Convention on Human Rights / Merits Judgment by Chamber, Third Section, European Court of Human Rights

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicants, Georgian nationals, were subjected to collective expulsion in violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention
  2. 2 Whether procedural guarantees under Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 were violated
  3. 3 Whether the applicants' right to liberty and security under Article 5 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention was violated

Ratio Decidendi

The Court found that, except for certain applicants who left voluntarily or were not subject to expulsion orders, the applicants were subjected to an administrative practice of arrest, detention, and expulsion of Georgian nationals in Russia in 2006, without reasonable and objective examination of individual cases, amounting to collective expulsion in violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4. No violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 was found as applicants were not lawfully resident or not expelled. The Court also found violations of Article 5 §§ 1 and 4 regarding the right to liberty and security for those detained.

Court Disposition

Partly violation, partly no violation, applications joined, one struck out, one continued by heir.

Orders

  • Violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention in respect of applicants subjected to expulsion orders.
  • No violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 for applicants who left voluntarily or without expulsion orders.