THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 48244/20
S.I.
against Greece
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 19 September 2024 as a Committee composed of:
Peeter Roosma, President,
Andreas Zünd,
Oddný Mjöll Arnardóttir, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 26 October 2020 and the decisions not to have the applicant’s name disclosed;
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr S.I., was born in 2002. He was represented by Ms E. Kriona Saranti, a lawyer practising in Athens.
The applicant’s complaints under Articles 3, 8 and 13 of the Convention concerning the living conditions of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Greece in 2019 were communicated to the Greek Government (“the Government”), who submitted observations on the admissibility and merits. The applicant submitted observations in reply.
On 8 March 2024 the Registry sent a letter to the representative requesting information on whether she maintains contact with the applicant and requesting to submit proof in this regard. Her attention was drawn to the Court’s findings in the case of V.M. and Others v. Belgium ((striking out) [GC], no. 60125/11, § 35, 17 November 2016) and the possibility of striking out of the application.
In the letters of 18 April and 29 May 2024 the applicant’s representative stated that she had no contact with her client since the end of 2022, when he had informed her over WhatsApp that he had left Greece. He also stopped using the phone number that he had shared with her. However, she claimed that the Court needs to continue the examination of the application given the importance of the issues raised by it.
In the light of this information on 1 May 2024 the Government referring to the Court’s well-established case-law requested to strike the case out of the list of cases.
As it follows from the representative’s submissions, she had no contact with the applicant for more than eighteen months and she has no means of communication with him.
THE LAW
In the light of the foregoing, and in the absence of any special circumstances regarding respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention and the Protocols thereto, the Court, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention, considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.
Accordingly, the case should be struck out of the list.
The Court notes that it may decide to restore the application to the list of cases provided that the conditions of Article 37 § 2 of the Convention are satisfied.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 10 October 2024.
Viktoriya Maradudina Peeter Roosma
Acting Deputy Registrar President