Russia - Supreme Court of Russian Federation, judgment №44-АД 12-17

The applicant, who is stateless, was fined for violating immigration rules, and an expulsion order was issued against him, with a detention in an immigration detention centre prior to the expulsion. The applicant appealed against the detention, but the Court found no reasons to question the lawfulness of detention, as the law allows to detain foreigners and stateless persons prior to their expulsion. 

Case status
Decided
Case number
№44-АД 12-17
Citation
http://vsrf.ru/stor_pdf.php?id=518140
Date of decision
Court / UN Treaty Body
Supreme Court
Language(s) the decision is available in
Russian
Applicant's country of birth
Unknown
Applicant's country of residence
Russian Federation
Facts

The applicant was identified in September 2011 as staying in the Russian Federation without being registered with immigration authorities and without documents confirming the right to stay (reside) in the Russian Federation, failing to leave the Russian Federation within the set deadline (25  August 2011). On that basis he was found guilty by an administrative court of having committed an administrative offence. He was fined for 2000 rubles, and an administrative expulsion order was issued against him, with detention in an immigration detention centre. During judicial review of this decision in 2012, the applicant was determined to be stateless by a higher instance court, but that did not affect the lawfulness of the measures taken against him. The applicant appealed to the Supreme Court against having to be held in the immigration detention centre.

Decision & Reasoning

The Court rejected the applicant’s appeal, and reasoned as follows:

“The imposition of an additional punishment in the form of administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation should be based on data confirming the actual need to apply to a person, in respect of which the proceedings on an administrative offence are being conducted, this specific punishment, as well as its proportionality as the only possible way to achieve balance of public and private interests in the framework of administrative proceedings. On 30 September 2011, when [imposing the fine and ordering the expulsion], the judge of the Sverdlovskiy District Court of Perm fully took into account all the [relevant] circumstances.”

“By virtue of part 5 of Article 32.10 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation […], prior to administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation, a foreign national or a stateless person, may be held in special premises provided for in Article 27.6 of the aforementioned code, on the basis of a court decision.”

“There are no reasons to disagree with the conclusion of the judge of the district court about the need to keep [the applicant] in the [immigration detention] centre.”

Outcome

The Court ruled against the applicant, confirming the lawfulness of his detention in the immigration detention centre.