Judgment in Ait Oufella v. France and 3 other applications, European Court of Human Rights, 13 June 2024, application no. 51860/20

The outcome

  • The French Government officially acknowledges that our client’s detention violated Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to liberty and security)
  • The European Court unanimously takes note of this commitment

Background

In March 2020, at the height of the health crisis, a Government Order (No. 2020-303, Article 16) automatically extended pre-trial detention periods without a judge reviewing each individual case. As a result, people presumed innocent remained in detention without judicial oversight.

⚖️ A campaign launched in 2020

The firm lodged an application with the European Court on 23 November 2020. Our application was the first in the series, and the one that gave its name to the ruling. Since then, this measure has been condemned at every level:

  • by the Court of Cassation (26 May 2020)
  • by the Constitutional Council, which declared it contrary to the Constitution (29 January 2021)
  • by the Council of State (5 March 2021)
  • and finally by the Government’s admission before the European Court

The principle reaffirmed

Even in times of crisis, freedom is not suspended. Any deprivation of liberty must be reviewed by a judge, promptly and on a case-by-case basis. The Court emphasises that its case-law on this point is ‘clear and extensive’.

The applicant was represented by Mr G. Thuan Dit Dieudonné, a solicitor in Strasbourg.
👉 Detention, police custody, deprivation of liberty: our firm defends your rights all the way to Strasbourg.

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