Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2016
debatable to what extent they understood what they were signing. Either foreigners’ signatures
on the forms should certainly be accompanied by that of the interpreter or forms should be
drafted in a bilingual form.
Free legal aid is prescribed by the Foreigners Act and Ordinance on Free Legal Aid in the
Procedure of Expulsion of Foreigners, and it implies assistance in drafting the statement of
claim and engagement of a representative before the Administrative Court. It is granted only
within the procedure of deciding upon expulsion and/or return of persons with illegal residence
or short-term residence, and this unless they possess things of greater value or sufficient
financial means or if it has been estimated beforehand that the procedure before an
administrative court will not be ended favourably. However, what violates their rights is the
fact that right to free legal aid is foreseen only in cases of expulsion or return – not in cases of
freedom of movement restriction – and what is particularly unacceptable is for the Ministry of
the Interior to prejudice against the manner in which administrative case in question might be
resolved, which as a result affects their right to free legal aid.
Availability of adequate translation services and of free legal aid is particularly important in the
procedures of deciding upon expulsion and freedom restriction by placement in FRCJ. Namely,
if an irregular migrant has not been informed on his or her rights, especially the ones regarding
legal remedy, and does not initiate administrative proceedings, the court will have no
knowledge about the fact that his or her movement has been restricted, until ten days prior to
the expiry of three months since the day of being placed in FRCJ. According to the Constitution,
human liberty and personality are inviolable and no one shall be deprived of liberty, nor may
such liberty be restricted, except when specified by law, upon which a court shall decide within
reasonable time limit, which the above-mentioned time limit, as referred to in the Foreigners
Act is certainly not. In addition, CPT standards recommend that irregular migrants whose
freedom of movement has been restricted, must have at their disposal an effective legal
remedy, which enables legality of their deprivation of liberty to be decided upon by a court,
within a short period of time.
Besides, within the procedure of freedom of
Within the procedure of freedom of
movement restriction, decision should be made on
movement restriction, decision should
the basis of individual assessment, in order to avoid
be made on the basis of individual
the reason for detention of vulnerable groups,
estimation, in order to avoid the reason
especially families with children, to be lack of open
for detention of vulnerable groups,
centres. Even though National Programme of the
especially families with children, to be
Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, sets out
lack of open centres.
organizing open-type accommodation, not a single
new centre has been opened as yet, and except for a case of short-term placement of
vulnerable groups of irregular migrants in one section of RFAS in Zagreb – which stopped after
increase in the number of applicants for international protection – people are not provided
with this type of accommodation any longer. In situations when FRCJ is full and when there are
no open centres available, irregular migrants who dispose of no identification documents or
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