Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 1
November-December 1998
Benrachid v. France (dec.) - 39518/98
Decision 8.12.1998
Article 8
Article 8-1
Respect for family life
Expulsion of a foreigner having lived in France since the age of 7: inadmissible
The applicant, of Algerian origin, entered France at the age of 7 and lived there from 1970 until 1993, when he was expelled. An expulsion order was served on him by the Minister of the Interior following his conviction for armed robbery and the unlawful taking of a hostage. The administrative court rejected his appeal and the Conseil d’Etat confirmed that decision.
Inadmissible under Article 8: In accordance with the established case-law of the Convention organs, the Contracting Parties have a right to control the entry, residence and expulsion of non-nationals. This applies provided there is no interference with the right secured in Article 8. Given the age at which the applicant arrived in France and the fact that his family lives there, the expulsion order constituted an interference. However, he had performed his military service in Algeria and therefore had sufficient links with that country. Furthermore, this measure pursued the legitimate aims of defending public order and preventing crime; in view of the seriousness of the offences committed by the applicant, the measure was not disproportionate: manifestly ill-founded.
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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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