Author
Applicants for international protection are informed orally by the staff of the Ministry of Interior about the reasons of their detention during the delivery of the decision.
As decisions are written in complex legal language, the majority of applicants do not understand the reasons for their detention. In practice, the interpreter present at the delivery of the decision reads decision to them, although an attorney reported in 2019 that clients were not informed about the reasons of detention.[1]
The LITP does not provide for automatic review of the lawfulness of detention.
Applicants may lodge a law suit to the Administrative Court against a detention decision within 8 days after its delivery. The authority that has issued the decision i.e. Ministry of Interior, the police administration or the police station, shall submit the case file to the Administrative Court no later than within 8 days of the day of receipt of the decision by which the Administrative Court requests the case file. The Administrative Court shall render a decision after a personal interview within 15 days from the day of receipt of the case file.
However, there are no legal consequences for not respecting the 15-day time limit prescribed by the relevant legislation. The complaint does not suspend the decision.
According to the Administrative Court in Zagreb, the court registry application does not recognise the difference between cases in which freedom of movement was restricted by other alternative measures than detention in the Reception Centre for Foreigners.[2] Thus it is not possible to report in how many cases the court had to decide on detention in the Reception Centre for Foreigners in 2020 and 2021.
The average duration of the judicial review of procedure of restriction of the freedom of movement in 2020 was 28 days before the Administrative Court of Zagreb[3] and 43 days in 2021.[4]
The majority of law suits against restriction of the freedom of movement before Administrative Court in Zagreb were rejected in 2021. Out of the total 15 law suits, more than half (8) were rejected and one was suspended. Only 2 were accepted, 1 was accepted and referred back and 3 were partially accepted.[5] Other Administrative Courts did not deal with lawsuits against restrictions to the freedom of movement in the course of 2021.
In 2021, the High Administrative Court did not receive onward appeals in cases of detention in the Reception Centre for Foreigners.[6]
[1] Information provided by attorneys-at-law, 3 December 2019.
[2] Information provided by the Administrative Court in Zagreb, 18 February 2021.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Information provided by the Administrative Court in Zagreb, 31 January 2022.
[5] Information provided by the Administrative Court of Zagreb, 31 January 2022.
[6] Information provided by the High Administrative Court, 14 January 2022.