In two rulings published on Tuesday 23 July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held that Malta violated articles of the European Convention on Human Rights ensuring the right to liberty and security (Art 5) and prohibiting inhuman or degrading treatment (Art 3).
The judgments resulted from submissions made by human rights lawyers on behalf of individuals who were affected by the detention system in Malta.
UNHCR is studying the details of the judgments to analyse potential implications for the asylum system in Malta. It is clear that the Court has assessed that the national system has not been able to safeguard certain key rights of asylum seekers, including as regards legal remedies and detention conditions. The Court has also expressed reservations about Malta’s across-the-board detention policy, which prescribes detention for all undocumented asylum seekers, with exceptions only made for release of vulnerable individuals. References are made in the judgments also to recent UNHCR guidelines which accept detention only as an exceptional measure based on individual review.
In conclusion, the Court found that the system failed as a whole to protect asylum seekers from arbitrary detention, rendering the detention practice unlawful as measured against the European Convention on Human Rights.
While the two ECHR judgments are not yet in force and final, it is UNHCR’s view they present another reason for Malta to undertake a comprehensive review of its detention policy and reception arrangements. UNHCR considers that it is possible for Malta to develop a system that ensures respect for the rights of asylum seekers while also taking into account this country’s legitimate interest in implementing effective control and return mechanisms.
Read the judgments:
The European Convention on Human Rights is an international treaty under which the member States of the Council of Europe promise to secure fundamental civil and political rights, not only to their own citizens but also to everyone within their jurisdiction. The Convention, which was signed on 4 November 1950 in Rome, entered into force in 1953.
The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1959. It rules on individual or State applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. In almost fifty years the Court has delivered more than 10,000 judgments. These are binding on the countries concerned and have led governments to alter their legislation and administrative practice in a wide range of areas. The Court’s case-law makes the Convention a powerful living instrument for meeting new challenges and consolidating the rule of law and democracy in Europe.
The Court is based in Strasbourg, in the Human Rights Building designed by the British architect Lord Richard Rogers in 1994 – a building whose image is known worldwide. From here, the Court monitors respect for the human rights of 800 million Europeans in the 47 Council of Europe member States that have ratified the Convention.
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