CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 15 mai 2001

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sA1D3DA2E { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sD35C6159 { width:1.54pt; display:inline-block } .s4598CDF { width:70.9pt; display:inline-block } .sF9A986A5 { width:12.2pt; display:inline-block } .sCB27B9E { width:16.66pt; display:inline-block } .sC5412BEF { width:51.05pt; display:inline-block } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS     350   15.5.2001   Press release issued by the Registrar   HEARING IN THE CASE OF CONKA v. BELGIUM   Tuesday May 15 at 9 a.m.   The applicants   The case concerns an application brought by four Slovakian nationals of Romany origin, Jan Conka, Maria Conkova, Nada Conkova and Nikola Conkova, who were born in 1960, 1961, 1985 and 1991 respectively.   Summary of the facts   In November 1998 Mr and Mrs Conka and their children left Slovakia for Belgium, where they applied for political asylum on account of repeated attacks allegedly made on them by skinheads.   On 18 June 1999 their asylum applications were declared inadmissible by the General Commission for Refugees and Stateless Persons and they were ordered to leave Belgium within five days. On 3 August 1999 the applicants applied to the Conseil d’Etat for judicial review of the General Commission’s decisions, while at the same time seeking an ordinary stay of execution.   At the end of September 1999 the Ghent police summoned several dozen Slovakian Romany families, including Mr and Mrs Conka and their children, to report to them on 1 October 1999 so that missing information could be added to the files on their asylum applications. Once they were inside the police headquarters the Conkas were served with fresh orders to leave Belgian territory and warrants for their arrest. They were then taken with other Romany families to the closed transit centre at Steenokkerzeel, near Brussels. On 5 October 1999 they were escorted onto an aircraft which left Belgium for Slovakia at 5.45   p.m. with 74 Romany refugees who had been refused asylum on board.   On 13 March 2001 the Court declared admissible the applicants’ complaints under Article 5 §§ 1, 2 and 4 (right to liberty and security) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 (prohibition of collective expulsions of aliens).   Complaints   Under Article 5 § 1 of the Convention the applicants complained of their arrest on 1 October 1999 and in particular of the fact that it had taken place after they had been summoned to report to Ghent police headquarters so that missing information could be added to the files on their asylum applications. Relying on Article 5 §§ 2 and 4 of the Convention, they further asserted that they had not been given sufficient information about the reasons for their arrest, so that they had been prevented from bringing the proceedings contemplated in Article 5 § 4. In addition, they asserted that they had not had any remedy satisfying the requirements of Article 13 of the Convention whereby they could complain of the alleged violations of Articles 3 and 4 of Protocol No. 4 and that they had been victims of a “collective expulsion of aliens” prohibited by Article 4 of   Protocol No. 4.   Procedure   The application was lodged on 4 October 1999 and declared partly admissible on 13 March 2001.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Jean-Paul Costa (French), President , Willi Fuhrmann (Austrian), Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), Karel Jungwiert (Czech), Nicolas Bratza (British), Kristaq Traja (Albanian), Jan Velaers (Belgian), ad hoc judge, judges, Loukis Loucaides (Cypriot), Hanne Sophie Greve (Norwegian), Mindia Ugrekhelidze (Georgian), substitute judges ,   and also Sally Dollé , Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government:   Claude Debrulle , Agent ,   Rusen Ergec, Counsel ,   Frédéric Bernard , Freddy Roosemont, T. Michaux , Pascal Smets ,   Jacques Gilliaux and Iris Verheven , Advisers ;   Applicants:   Georges-Henri Beauthier , Norbert Van Overloop and   Olivier De Schutter , Counsel .   *** After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15) Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.