Court name: European Court of Human Rights
State: Ukraine
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
Key aspects: Deportation and removal, Detention, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Procedural safeguards
The applicant was born in the Russian Federation and his birth was not duly registered. Lacking identity documents and unable to prove his nationality, he was detained in Ukraine for the purpose of expulsion. The Court held that the authorities did not act diligently when they waited almost eleven months to contact the Russian embassy and obtain documentation to evidence the applicant's Russian nationality, and failed to review the lawfulness of his detention and to provide an effective remedy, in violation of Articles 5(1), (4) and (5) ECHR.