HFHR wins at court: no extension of foreigner’s detention in a guarded centre

The Regional Court in Przemyśl accepted a foreigner’s complaint against an order that extended his detention at the local Guarded Centre for Foreigners.

The HFHR has submitted an amicus curiae brief in this case, arguing that certain provisions of the Foreigners Act are incompatible with the EU law, and in particular with the Return Directive.

The Regional Court shared the arguments presented by the HFHR, which was shown in the statement of reasons appended to the Court’s opinion. The Court ruled that provisions of the Return Directive prevented extensions of a foreigner’s period of detention at a guarded centre solely for the reason that they asked an administrative court for a judicial review of a compulsory return decision. Since the EU regulations are in conflict with domestic laws, the latter should be disregarded as incompatible with the EU law, the Court held.

“The decision of the Regional Court in Przemyśl is a very good sign for the future. We hope that other courts adjudicating cases that involve extensions of foreigners’ placement at guarded centres will follow the suit”, said Małgorzata Jaźwińska the HFHR’s lawyer who drafted the amicus curiae brief.