PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 39652/98) against the French Republic lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights (“the Commission”) under former Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Tunisian national, Mr Nouri Maaouia (“the applicant”), on 30 December 1997.

The applicant alleged, in particular, that the length of proceedings he had brought on 12 August 1994 for the rescission of an exclusion order, which proceedings had ended with the judgment of the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal of 26 January 1998, had been unreasonable, contrary to Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.

The case was referred to the Court on 1 November 1998, when Protocol No. 11 to the Convention came into force (Article 5 § 2 of Protocol No. 11).

The case was assigned to the Third Section of the Court (Rule 52 § 1 of the Rules of Court). On 12 January 1999 the Chamber decided to adjourn the examination of the applicant’s complaint concerning the length of the proceedings for rescission of the exclusion order (Article 6 § 1 of the Convention) and to declare the remainder of the application inadmissible [Note by the Registry. The Court’s decision is obtainable from the Registry.].

On 1 February 2000 the Chamber, composed of the following judges: Sir Nicolas Bratza, President, Mr J.-P. Costa, Mrs F. Tulkens, Mr W. Fuhrmann, Mr K. Jungwiert, Mr K. Traja and Mr M. Ugrekhelidze, and of Mrs S. Dollé, Section Registrar, decided to relinquish jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber, none of the parties being opposed thereto (Article 30 of the Convention and Rule 72).

The composition of the Grand Chamber was determined according to the provisions of Article 27 §§ 2 and 3 of the Convention and Rule 24. In a decision of 22 March 2000 [Note by the Registry. The Court’s decision is obtainable from the Registry.] the Grand Chamber declared the remainder of the application admissible, while reserving the issue of the applicability of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.

The applicant and the French Government (“the Government”) each filed written observations on the merits of the case.

A hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 5 July 2000. There appeared before the Court: (a) for the Government Mr R. Abraham, Director of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Agent, Mrs C. d’Urso, Head of the Human Rights Office, Department of European and International Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Mr P. Boussaroque, administrative court judge, on secondment to the Legal Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Counsel; (b) for the applicant Mr A. Chemama, of the Nice Bar, Counsel. The Court heard addresses by Mr Chemama and Mr Abraham.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant, who was born in 1958 in Tunisia, entered France in 1980 at the age of 22. On 14 September 1992 he married a French national, an invalid whose disability had been assessed at 80%, with whom he had been living since 1983.

On 1 December 1988 the Alpes-Maritimes Assize Court sentenced the applicant to six years’ imprisonment for armed robbery and armed assault with intent for offences committed in 1985. He was released on 14 April 1990.

On 8 August 1991 the Minister of the Interior made a deportation order against him. The order was served on the applicant, who had been unaware of its existence, on 6 October 1992, when he attended the Nice Centre for Administrative Formalities in order to regularise his status.

He refused to travel to Tunisia and was prosecuted for failing to comply with a deportation order. On 19 November 1992 the Nice Criminal Court sentenced him to one year’s imprisonment and made an order excluding him from French territory for ten years. That decision was upheld on appeal by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal on 7 June 1993. An appeal on points of law was dismissed by the Court of Cassation on 1 June 1994 on the ground that the applicant had failed to challenge the legality of the deportation order in the courts below.

On 22 July 1994 the applicant applied to the Criminal Cases Review Board of the Court of Cassation for a review of the criminal proceedings that had resulted in his being imprisoned for one year and banned from French territory for ten years. In a judgment of 28 April 1997, which was served on 22 September 1997, the Court of Cassation dismissed that application.

A. Proceedings before the administrative courts for an order quashing the deportation order made against the applicant

In December 1992 the applicant sought judicial review of the deportation order. In a judgment of 14 February 1994 the Nice Administrative Court quashed the deportation order of 8 August 1991, inter alia, on the ground that no notice had been served on the applicant requiring him to appear before the Deportation Board. That judgment became final on 14 March 1994 after being served on the Minister of the Interior.

B. Application for rescission of the exclusion order

On the strength of the administrative court’s judgment of 14 February 1994 quashing the deportation order, the applicant applied to the Principal Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal on 12 August 1994 for rescission of the ten-year exclusion order made by the Nice Criminal Court on 19 November 1992. He contended that he was married to a French national and held a provisional residence permit.

In a letter of 6 July 1995 the applicant reminded the Principal Public Prosecutor’s Office of the terms of his application for rescission. Noting that the application had been outstanding for some time, he asked the office to arrange for it to be heard and a ruling given. On 12 July 1995 the Principal Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Nice tribunal de grande instance for its opinion on the merits of the application and any information that would assist the court in deciding whether the exclusion order should be rescinded. On 19 September 1995 Nice Central Police Station sent the Principal Public Prosecutor’s Office the results of an inquiry concerning the applicant.

On 3 November 1997 the Principal Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Appeal informed the applicant that the case would be heard on 26 January 1998. On that date the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal granted the applicant’s application and rescinded the exclusion order on the ground that the Nice Administrative Court had quashed the deportation order.

C. Steps taken by the applicant to regularise his immigration status

The applicant also sought to regularise his status with the immigration authorities. He initially obtained acknowledgment forms for applications for provisional residence permits (not work permits) for renewable three-month periods. On 4 September 1995, however, he was given a new three-month residence permit incorporating the right to seek employment.

On 14 September 1995 the applicant applied to the prefect for the Alpes-Maritimes département for a residence permit allowing him to live and work in France for a prolonged period, as he was married to a French citizen. On 9 April 1996 the applicant received notice of a decision dated 2 April 1996 refusing him a residence permit. He appealed to the Nice Administrative Court, but his appeal was dismissed on 27 September 1996.

The applicant appealed on 24 December 1996 to the Lyons Administrative Court of Appeal. On 29 August 1997 the President of that court ordered the transfer of the file to the Marseilles Administrative Court of Appeal – the court with jurisdiction – where the case is currently pending.

On 21 July 1998 the applicant obtained a temporary residence permit valid for one year (from 13 July 1998 to 12 July 1999). Recently he obtained a ten-year residence permit with the right to seek employment.