Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
04/05/2023
The ECtHR found violations of Article 3 of the European Convention for inadequate conditions of detention for a mother and her child, pending a Dublin transfer, and of Article 5 §§ 1 and 4 regarding the baby.

ECLI
ECLI:CE:ECHR:2023:0504JUD000428921
Input Provided By
EUAA IDS
Other Source/Information
Type
Judgment
Original Documents
Relevant Legislative Provisions
Dublin Regulation III (Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for IP); European Convention on Human Rights
Reference
Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR], AC and MC v France, No 4289/21, ECLI:CE:ECHR:2023:0504JUD000428921, 04 May 2023. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.
Permanent link to the case
https://caselaw.euaa.europa.eu/pages/viewcaselaw.aspx?CaseLawID=3376
Case history
Other information

Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR], M.D. and A.D. v France, No 57035/18, 22 July 2021. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.

Abstract

A mother and her minor child of seven-and-a-half-months old, both Guinean nationals, were placed in detention in France pending a Dublin transfer to Spain. They were held there for 48 hours, subsequently extended by the courts for 28 days. They were released after nine days.


They complained before the ECtHR under Article 3 and Article 5 of the European Convention.

Under Article 3, the ECtHR held that there had been a violation of the European Convention, for the mother and her child. The court held that given the very young age of the child, the reception conditions in the Metz-Queuleu detention center and the length of the detention which lasted nine days, the competent authorities subjected the child to treatment which has exceeded the severity threshold required by Article 3 of the Convention. Having regard to the inseparable ties between the mother and her seven-and-a-half-month-old baby, as well as the emotions which they share, the court considered that the same violation took place for the mother. 

Under Article 5, the court found violation of §1 and §4 of the European Convention. The court found that there was a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention in respect of the minor applicant, MC, regarding the extension of the administrative detention, as the authorities did not verify if the extension of the detention was a measure of last resort to facilitate the child’s departure. It was further held that the minor applicant did not benefit from a judicial review under Article 5 § 4 of the European Convention.


Country of Decision
Council of Europe
Court Name
CoE: European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR]
Case Number
No 4289/21
Date of Decision
04/05/2023
Country of Origin
Guinea
Keywords
Detention/ Alternatives to Detention
Dublin procedure
Torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
RETURN