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.
In practice, the interpreter is 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] However in 2022, the national Ombudswoman conducted investigations based on the complaints of applicants for international protection, their family members, as well as on information provided by civil society organizations and determined that, at border police stations, in the procedure of passing a decision on restriction of freedom of movement, interpretation was not provided.[2]
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.[3] 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 2022, Administrative Court of Zagreb decided in 40 cases regarding the procedure apply to restrict asylum seekers’ freedom of movement. Most law suits against restriction of the freedom of movement presented before the Administrative Court of Zagreb were rejected in 2022. Out of the 40 law suits, more than half (27) were rejected, 10 were accepted, 1 was accepted and referred back and 2 were referred. Other Administrative Courts did not deal with lawsuits against restrictions to the freedom of movement in the course of 2022.
The average duration of the judicial review of procedure of restriction of the freedom of movement in 2021 was 43 days[4] and 38 days in 2022before the Administrative Court of Zagreb.[5]
In 2022, the High Administrative Court received 4 onward appeals in cases of detention in the Reception Centre for Foreigners and they were rejected.[6]
[1] Information provided by attorneys-at-law, 3 December 2019.
[2] Report of the Ombudsman for 2022, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3MNkaLf.
[3] Information provided by the Administrative Court in Zagreb, 18 February 2021.
[4] Information provided by the Administrative Court in Zagreb, 31 January 2022.
[5] Information provided by the Administrative Court in Zagreb, 23 January 2023.
[6] Information provided by the High Administrative Court, 13 January 2023.