THIRD SECTION
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CASE OF KAHADAWA ARACHCHIGE AND OTHERS v. CYPRUS
 
(Applications nos. 16870/11, 16874/11 and 16879/11)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
JUDGMENT
 
 
STRASBOURG
 
19 June 2018
 
 
FINAL
 
03/12/2018
 
This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Kahadawa Arachchige and Others v. Cyprus,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:
 Helena Jäderblom, President,
 Dmitry Dedov,
 Pere Pastor Vilanova,
 Alena Poláčková,
 Georgios A. Serghides,
 Jolien Schukking,
 María Elósegui, judges,
and Stephen Phillips, Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 29 May 2018,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in three applications (nos. 16870/11, 16874/11 and 16879/11) against the Republic of Cyprus lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by three Sri Lankan nationals, Mr Don Uditha Niroshana Kahadawa Arachchige (“the first applicant”), Mr Dehiwalage Shehan Fernando (“the second applicant”) and Mr Dushan Aruna Shanthi Budda Koralage (“the third applicant”). The first and second applicants lodged their application on 22 February 2011 and the third applicant on 26 February 2011. 2. The applicants were represented by Mr V. Cooray, a lawyer practising in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The Cypriot Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr C. Clerides, Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus. 3. The applicants alleged in particular that their detention from 14 January 2011 until their deportation on 19 January 2011 (in the case of the first and third applicants) and 21 January 2011 (in the case of the second applicant) had been unlawful and thus in violation of Article 5 of the Convention, and that they did not have an effective remedy to challenge their detention, in violation of Article 13 of the Convention. Furthermore, the first applicant complained of a violation of the right to respect for his private and family life under Article 8, and the lack of an effective remedy under Article 13 in this respect. Lastly, the first and second applicants alleged that they had been deported without being informed about the deportation decision and without any procedural safeguards, in breach of Article 1 of Protocol No. 7. 4. On 17 March 2011 the Government was requested, pursuant to Rule 49 § 3 (a) of the Rules of Court, to submit additional factual information concerning the applications. 5. On 9 February 2016 the above complaints were communicated to the Government; the applicants’ complaints under Articles 5 and 13 were communicated under Article 5 §§ 1 and 4. The remainder of the applications were declared inadmissible, pursuant to Rule 54 § 3 of the Rules of Court. THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
6. The applicants were born in 1974, 1978 and 1980 respectively. They all live in Sri Lanka. The first applicant lives in Colombo, the second applicant in Kochchikade, and the third applicant in Pannipitiya. A. Background to the case
7. The applicants all went to Cyprus for employment purposes. 1. The first applicant and his family
8. The first applicant arrived in Cyprus on 20 April 2001 in order to take up employment as a domestic worker. He was granted a temporary residence permit, initially until 20 April 2005. This was renewed until 10 May 2011. 9. The residence permit stated that it could be revoked at any time with fourteen days’ prior notice to the holder. 10. During the above period the applicant left Cyprus twice to go back to Sri Lanka: on 12 November 2001 and in January 2004. The first time, he stayed in his home country for about eleven months, and the second time, he stayed for just over a month. On 21 February 2004, during his second visit home, he married a Sri Lankan national. 11. His wife joined him in Cyprus on 16 September 2004, in order to work as a housemaid. She was granted a temporary residence permit until 16 September 2008. 12. On 13 December 2007 their daughter was born. 13. On 17 September 2008 the first applicant’s wife abandoned her work and her place of residence. Her whereabouts at the time were not known to the authorities. She had not applied for the renewal or extension of her temporary residence permit, which had expired the day before. 14. On 10 December 2008 all competent authorities were given orders by the Police Aliens and Immigration Unit to trace the first applicant’s wife. 15. On 30 November 2010 a lawyer acting on behalf of the first applicant’s wife wrote to the Minister of the Interior requesting a visitor’s residence permit for her based on humanitarian grounds, a permit of the same duration as that held by her husband. The lawyer noted that the couple had a young daughter, that both the wife and the daughter were supported by the first applicant, and that she could not return to Sri Lanka without him, as she did not have family there with whom she and her daughter could stay. She also needed time to obtain travel documents for their daughter. The lawyer informed the authorities that the couple’s intention was that the whole family would return to Sri Lanka upon the expiry of the first applicant’s temporary residence permit. 2. The second applicant
16. The second applicant arrived in Cyprus on 5 February 2010 and was granted a temporary residence permit until 4 May 2010. This was renewed until 19 October 2011. 17. The residence permit stated that it could be revoked at any time with fourteen days’ prior notice to the holder. 3. The third applicant
18. The third applicant arrived in Cyprus on 4 March 2002. He was granted a temporary residence permit until 3 May 2002. This was renewed until 12 February 2009. Following the expiry of his permit, he remained in Cyprus on an irregular basis. The third applicant submitted that he had applied for a renewal of his permit. 19. The residence permit stated that it could be revoked at any time with fourteen days’ prior notice to the holder. It also stated that it was final and non-renewable. B. The applicants’ arrest, detention and deportation
1. The applicants’ version of the facts
20. According to the first and second applicants, on 6 January 2011, while in the first applicant’s car, they passed through the Ayios Dometios district of Nicosia and saw a group of Sri Lankans. They got out of the car and saw people holding swords and iron rods. Fearing for their lives, they abandoned the car and ran in different directions. The second applicant was injured during the clashes: his index finger was cut off and his middle finger injured. After the clashes, the first applicant took the second applicant to the Nicosia General Hospital, where the latter underwent surgery. According to the second applicant, the police came to the hospital and arrested him. He remained in the hospital after the operation, and on 9 January 2011 he was taken to Lakatamia police station, where he was detained. According to the first applicant, on the morning of 7 January 2011 six people who had taken part in the clash attacked his residence and threatened to kill him if he went to the police. However, half an hour later, when he went to the police station to report the incident, he was arrested and detained on suspicion of being involved in the clashes. 21. According to the third applicant, he was also passing by that area with his car and stopped to see what was going on, but, fearing for his life, he ran away and left his car behind. He informed his employer and the latter informed the police about the clash. The police asked the third applicant to come to the police station to make a statement and take his car back. On 7 January 2011 the third applicant went to Lakatamia police station and was arrested and detained on suspicion of being involved in the clashes. 2. The Government’s version of the facts
22. On the evening of 6 January 2011 the police received information that about twenty aliens carrying offensive weapons (swords, clubs and Molotov cocktails) were in the Ayios Dometios district of Nicosia. The police immediately went to the site and discovered that a number of aliens had attempted to set fire to a house there by throwing Molotov cocktails at it. The police carried out an investigation into the events. They examined and collected evidence found in the area (including the first and third applicants’ cars). They reached the conclusion that the applicants, along with six other individuals from Sri Lanka, were likely to have been involved in the clash. A number of suspects, including the second applicant, had sustained injuries which had been treated at Nicosia General Hospital. 23. On 7 January 2011 the police arrested all nine Sri Lankans, including the applicants, on the basis of arrest warrants issued on the same day by the Nicosia District Court under section 18 of the Criminal Procedure Law (Cap. 155) and Article 11(3) of the Constitution, on reasonable suspicion that they had taken part in a fight in a public place, contrary to section 89 of the Criminal Code (Cap. 154). 24. On 8 January 2011 the Nicosia District Court convened at Nicosia General Hospital. The applicants were remanded in custody for six days under section 24 of the Criminal Procedure Law and Article 11(5) and (6) of the Constitution, to enable the investigation into the commission of various criminal offences to be concluded. The offences included: intending to inflict grievous bodily harm, unlawful wounding, an unlawful attempt to set fire to a building, and taking part in a fight in a public place (sections 228, 315 and 89 of the Criminal Code). The first applicant was detained in Paphos Gate police station in Nicosia, and the second and third applicants in Lakatamia police station. 25. On 13 January 2011 the police investigation file, which included written statements by the applicants concerning the incident, was transmitted to the Attorney General. The Nicosia Crime Investigation Department informed the Attorney General that that there was sufficient evidence against all the nine individuals arrested, including the applicants, in relation to the offence of taking part in a fight in a public place contrary to section 89 of the Criminal Code, but not as regards the remaining offences, which were more serious. The third applicant had also committed the offence of staying in Cyprus unlawfully, as his temporary resident permit had expired on 12 February 2009. At the suggestion of the police, the Attorney General decided not to prosecute the applicants, but to deport them instead. 26. On 14 January 2011 the residence permits of the first and second applicants were revoked by the Director of the Civil Registry and Migration Department under section 6 of the Aliens and Immigration Law (Cap. 105), on the grounds that their conduct had posed a danger to the public order of the Republic. Deportation and detention orders were issued against the applicants on the same day: under section 6(1)(g) of the above Law in respect of the first and the second applicants, on the grounds of public order, and under section 6(1)(k) in respect of the third applicant, on the grounds of unlawful stay. 27. On the same day three letters were prepared by the Minister of the Interior informing the applicants of the decision to detain and deport them. The letters stated that the applicants were illegal immigrants: the first and second applicants under section 6(1)(g) of the Aliens and Immigration Law, because their “conduct had been considered dangerous for reasons of public order”, and the third applicant by virtue of section 6(1)(k), on the grounds of “illegal stay”. Consequently, their temporary resident permits had been revoked and deportation and detention orders had been issued against them. 28. Consequently, on 14 January 2011, upon the expiry of the remand warrant, the applicants were released but re-arrested at once on the basis of the deportation and detention orders that had been issued against them. The Government submitted that, in accordance with standard police practice, the applicants would have been informed orally of the decision not to prosecute them and the decision to deport them. Although the Government did not have evidence as to the exact date on which the applicants were notified of the letters of 14 January 2011 or the exact manner in which they were notified, this happened sometime between 14 and 18 January 2011. 29. On 18 January 2011 a Cypriot lawyer acting on behalf of the applicants sent two letters by fax to the Minister of the Interior, referring to the letters of 14 January 2011 sent to the applicants. He objected to the deportation of the first and second applicants; he also requested a review of the decision taken with regard to the third applicant. The lawyer requested a meeting to discuss the matter with the above-mentioned Minister. 30. The Government submitted that the applicants’ case had then been reviewed by the Minister of the Interior, who had noted their lawyer’s objection, read the administrative file and maintained the decision to deport the applicants. 31. Although the first applicant called his wife several times during his detention, she did not come to visit him at the police station. 32. The first and third applicants were deported on 19 January 2011 and the second applicant was deported on 21 January 2011. 33. There were signed notes by a police officer on the copies of the letters of 14 January 2011 stating that the letters had also been served on the applicants on the day they were deported. 34. The applicants were included on the authorities’ “stop list” (a register of individuals whose entry into and exit from Cyprus is banned or subject to monitoring). C. Subsequent developments
35. The documents submitted by the Government indicate that the first applicant’s wife continued to stay in Cyprus illegally following her husband’s deportation. On 3 December 2012 she lodged an asylum application, which was dismissed on 31 January 2013. She left Cyprus for Sri Lanka on 5 July 2013 and she was included on the authorities’ “stop list” (see paragraph 34 above). She returned to Cyprus that same month with a new passport with different identity details, and was granted a residence and employment permit until 15 November 2016. However, the authorities realised that she was the same person and arrested her on 10 September 2014 with a view to her deportation. No further details have been given by the Government in this respect. II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE
A. The Aliens and Immigration Law (Cap. 105)
36. The entry, residence and deportation of aliens are regulated by the Aliens and Immigration Law of 1959 (Cap. 105, as amended). 37. Under section 6(1) of the Law, a person is not permitted to enter the Republic if he is a “prohibited immigrant”. This category includes any person who enters or resides in the country contrary to any prohibition, condition, restriction or limitation contained in the Law or in any permit granted or issued under the Law (section 6(1)(k)). Furthermore, a person can be considered a “prohibited immigrant” on, inter alia, grounds of public order, legal order or public morals, or if he or she constitutes a threat to peace (section 6(1)(g)). A “prohibited immigrant” can be ordered to leave the Republic under section 13 of the same Law. 38. Unauthorised entry into and/or stay in Cyprus (section 19(1)(l) of the Aliens and Immigration Law) are criminal offences. Until November 2011, they were punishable by imprisonment or a fine (section 19(2)) of the Aliens and Immigration Law). Amending Law no. 153(I)/2011, which entered into force in November 2011, removed the punishment of imprisonment, but retained the criminal nature of the contraventions and their punishment by a fine (section 18). 39. Section 6(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Law provides that the Council of Ministers or, by its direction, any Director, may grant a licence for a prohibited immigrant to enter and remain in the Republic for such period and subject to such terms and conditions as the Council of Ministers may see fit. In accordance with section 6(3), read in conjunction with section 13, any licence granted under section 6(2) may be revoked at any time by the Council of Ministers and, where such a licence is so revoked, the Chief Immigration Officer, who is the Minister of the Interior, may cause the person concerned to be arrested with a view to an order being made for his or her deportation as provided for by section 14 of the law. Under section 14, the deportation and, in the meantime, the detention of any alien who is considered “a prohibited immigrant” can be ordered by the Chief Immigration Officer. 40. Section 14(6) of the Aliens and Immigration Law provides that a person against whom a detention and/or deportation order has been issued shall be informed in writing, in a language which he understands, of the reasons for that decision – unless this is not desirable for reasons of public security – and that person has the right to be represented before the competent authorities and to request the services of an interpreter. Section 14(6) does not set a time-limit for notifying a person of the orders in writing. In addition, Regulation 19 of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations of 1972 (as amended) provides that when the Chief Immigration Officer decides that a person is a prohibited immigrant, written notice to that effect must be served on that person in accordance with the second schedule of the Regulations (see M.A. v. Cyprus, no. 41872/10, §§ 63-65, ECHR 2013 (extracts)). 41. Under Regulation 9(4) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations of 1972, an entry permit can be revoked by the Minister of the Interior provided that its holder is given at least fourteen days’ notice. If the holder is found (ανακαλυφθῇ) to be a prohibited immigrant or to have violated the terms and conditions of his entry permit, revocation may be implemented immediately. 42. Deportation and detention orders as well as the revocation of residence permits can be challenged by way of administrative “recourse” (judicial review proceedings) under Article 146 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus (for the domestic law applicable at the material time, see ibid, §§ 67-72; see also paragraph 43 below). B. Relevant case-law submitted by the Government
43. In the case of Qureshi Aqeel Ahmed v. the Republic (2006) 3 C.L.R. 537, the applicant was arrested on the basis of information that he was reportedly involved with al-Qaeda. He was declared a “prohibited immigrant” by the Chief Immigration Officer under the Aliens and Immigration Law. His temporary resident permit was revoked and detention and deportation orders were issued against him under section 6(1)(k) of the above Law. He was deported two days after his arrest. The applicant contested the legality of the revocation of his permit and the issuance of the detention and deportation orders against him. The Supreme Court, sitting as a full bench (that is, all thirteen judges), dismissed his recourse in its judgment of 21 September 2006. The applicant had been declared a “prohibited immigrant” on national security grounds under the relevant provisions of the Aliens and Immigration Law, and after the Chief Immigration Officer had examined all the evidence. Under Regulation 9(4) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations, the Chief Immigration Officer had the power to revoke a residence permit without notice. There was nothing to suggest that the authorities had not acted in good faith. The issuance of the deportation order under the Aliens and Immigration Law had been in accordance with domestic law. The Supreme Court held that the exception contained in the second paragraph of Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 was applicable in the circumstances of the case.
44.  Ιn an earlier case, that of Maria-Bella A. Mabello v. the Republic of Cyprus (2003) 4 C.L.R. 344, the applicant had challenged the legality of the detention and deportation orders issued against her following the revocation of her residence permit. The Supreme Court (first-instance revisional jurisdiction) dismissed the recourse. It held that the applicant, whose residence permit had been revoked because she had been considered to be a “prohibited immigrant”, had been in accordance with section 6(1)(k) of the Aliens and Immigration Law and Regulation 9(4) of the Aliens and Immigration Regulations. Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 was not applicable to the case as, following the revocation of her permit, the applicant had not been “lawfully resident” in Cyprus within the meaning of that provision. III. RELEVANT COUNCIL OF EUROPE DOCUMENTS
45. The Explanatory Report to Protocol No. 7 (ETS No. 117) defines the scope of application of Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 in the following manner:
“9. The word ‘resident’ is intended to exclude from the application of the article any alien who has arrived at a port or other point of entry but has not yet passed through the immigration control or who has been admitted to the territory for the purpose only of transit or for a limited period for a non-residential purpose... The word lawfully refers to the domestic law of the State concerned. It is therefore for domestic law to determine the conditions which must be fulfilled for a person’s presence in the territory to be considered ‘lawful’.
[A]n alien whose admission and stay were subject to certain conditions, for example a fixed period, and who no longer complies with these conditions cannot be regarded as being still ‘lawfully’ present.”
46. The Report further cites definitions of the notion of “lawful residence” contained in other international instruments:
Article 11 of the European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance (1953)
“a. Residence by an alien in the territory of any of the Contracting Parties shall be considered lawful within the meaning of this Convention so long as there is in force in his case a permit or such other permission as is required by the laws and regulations of the country concerned to reside therein...
b. Lawful residence shall become unlawful from the date of any deportation order made out against the person concerned, unless a stay of execution is granted.”
Section II of the Protocol to the European Convention on Establishment (1955)
“a. Regulations governing the admission, residence and movement of aliens and also their right to engage in gainful occupations shall be unaffected by this Convention insofar as they are not inconsistent with it;
b. Nationals of a Contracting Party shall be considered as lawfully residing in the territory of another Party if they have conformed to the said regulations.”
THE LAW
I. JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS
47. Given their similar factual and legal background, the Court decides that the three applications should be joined under Rule 42 § 1 of the Rules of Court. II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION
48. The applicants complained that their detention with a view to their deportation had been unlawful and therefore in breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention, the relevant parts of which provide as follows:
“1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:
.. (f)  the lawful arrest or detention of a person to prevent his effecting an unauthorised entry into the country or of a person against whom action is being taken with a view to deportation or extradition.”
49. The Government contested that argument. A. Admissibility
50. The Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible. B. Merits
1. The parties’ submissions
(a)  The applicants
51. The applicants submitted that it was for the respondent Government to show that their detention had been lawful and reasonable and necessary in the circumstances of the case. The applicants had been bystanders and had not been involved in the fight. (b)  The Government
52. The Government submitted that from 14 January 2011 until their respective deportations the applicants had been detained lawfully with a view to their deportation under and in conformity with Article 5 § 1 (f) of the Convention. The applicants’ detention had been in conformity with domestic law and procedure. They had been deprived of their liberty on the basis of deportation and detention orders issued on 14 January 2011 under section 14 of the Aliens and Immigration Law on the grounds that they had been “prohibited immigrants”: under section 6(1)(g) of the above Law in respect of the first and second applicants, on the grounds of public order, and under section 6(1)(k) in respect of the third applicant, on the grounds of unlawful stay. 53. The Government had no doubt that standard police practice had been followed and that when the applicants had been re-arrested immediately upon their release following the expiry of the remand warrant on 14 January 2011, they had been informed orally of the decision to deport and not prosecute them. Further, on the same date, letters informing the applicants of the decision to detain and deport them in compliance with section 14(6) of the Aliens and Immigration Law had been immediately prepared and sent to them. Although the Government did not have evidence as to the exact date and the exact manner in which the applicants had been notified of the letters of 14 January 2011, the applicants had definitely received the letters sometime between 14 and 18 January 2011. A lawyer acting on their behalf had thus been able to contact the Minister of the Interior on 18 January 2011 and object to the deportation decisions. In addition to that, the applicants had been served with the letters again on the date of their deportation. 54. In any event, the Government pointed out that section 14(6) did not set a time-limit within which a person should be notified of detention and/or deportation. In accordance with the domestic case-law, the authorities had had an obligation under this provision to inform the applicants in a language which they understood of the reasons for that decision, and to give this information after the issuance of the detention and/or deportation orders. 55. Lastly, the Government highlighted that the applicants had been held for a very short period time and solely for the purpose of their deportation and had not been deprived of their liberty in an arbitrary fashion. 2. The Court’s assessment
56. It is not disputed that the applicants, following the decision not to prosecute them and the expiry of their detention in remand, were deprived of their liberty on the basis of deportation and detention orders issued against them on the grounds that there were “prohibited immigrants”, and that they were detained for the purpose of being deported from Cyprus. The first and third applicants were held from 14 January 2011 until 19 January 2011, and the second applicant from 14 January 2011 until 21 January 2011. 57. Their detention therefore came within the ambit of Article 5 § 1 (f) of the Convention. 58. The Court reiterates that this provision does not require that the detention of a person against whom action is being taken with a view to deportation be reasonably considered necessary, for example to prevent his committing an offence or fleeing; in this respect, Article 5 § 1 (f) provides a different level of protection from Article 5 § 1 (c) (see Čonka v. Belgium, no. 51564/99, § 38, ECHR 2002‑I, and Chahal v. the United Kingdom, 15 November 1996, Reports 1996‑V, §§ 112-113). All that is required under this provision is that “action is being taken with a view to deportation”. It is therefore immaterial, for the purposes of Article 5 § 1 (f), whether the underlying decision to expel can be justified under national or Convention law (see Chahal, cited above, § 112). Any deprivation of liberty, however, under Article 5 § 1 (f) will be justified only for as long as deportation proceedings are in progress. If such proceedings are not prosecuted with due diligence, the detention will cease to be permissible under Article 5 § 1 (f) of the Convention (ibid., § 113). 59. Under the sub-paragraphs of Article 5 § 1, any deprivation of liberty must, in addition to falling within one of the exceptions set out in sub‑paragraphs (a)‑(f), be “lawful”. Where the “lawfulness” of detention is at issue, including the question of whether “a procedure prescribed by law” has been followed, the Convention refers essentially to national law and lays down the obligation to conform to the substantive and procedural rules of national law. Compliance with national law is not, however, sufficient: Article 5 § 1 requires in addition that any deprivation of liberty should be in keeping with the purpose of protecting the individual from arbitrariness. It is a fundamental principle that no detention which is arbitrary can be compatible with Article 5 § 1, and the notion of “arbitrariness” in Article 5 § 1 extends beyond lack of conformity with national law, so that a deprivation of liberty may be lawful in terms of domestic law but still arbitrary and thus contrary to the Convention (Saadi v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 13229/03, § 67, ECHR 2008). 60. Furthermore, in order to avoid being branded arbitrary, detention under Article 5 § 1 (f) of the Convention must be carried out in good faith; it must be closely connected to the ground of detention relied on by the Government; the place and conditions of detention should be appropriate; and the length of the detention should not exceed that reasonably required for the purpose pursued (see, for example, A. and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 3455/05, § 164 , ECHR 2009, and Saadi, cited above, § 74). 61. The Court observes that Cypriot law allows for the possibility of detention with a view to deportation. The Court notes in this respect that the decision of 14 January 2011 ordering the applicants’ detention and deportation was based on section 14 of the Aliens and Immigration Law, which permits the Chief Immigration Officer to order the deportation of any alien who is a prohibited immigrant, and his or her detention in the meantime. The deportation and detention orders in respect of the first and second applicants were issued on the grounds of public order under section 6(1)(g) of the Aliens and Immigration Law, and those in respect of the third applicant under section 6(1)(k) of the above-mentioned Law on the grounds of unlawful stay. The applicants were also notified of the orders in accordance with domestic law. Indeed, the applicants have not contested this in their observations. 62. Consequently, in view of the foregoing, the Court finds that the applicants’ detention had a legal basis in domestic law and was ordered “in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law”. 63. Furthermore, the applicants were in immigration detention for a short period of time: the first and third applicants were detained for five days and the second applicant for seven days. Thus, no issue arises in the case in respect of the requirement of diligence. 64. Lastly, there is no indication that the authorities acted in bad faith in detaining the applicants, or that the applicants were detained in unsuitable conditions, or that their detention was arbitrary for any other reason.
65.

Outcome for Article 5: no_violation