The case concerns the removal of the applicant from Hungary. The applicant is an Iraqi national of Kurdish origin. After being
handed from the Austrian police to Hungarian officers on the 3 June 2017 in Hegyeshalom, the applicant along with two
other persons were transported to the border fence and forced into Serbia on 5 June 2017. The applicant was 16 at this
time. It seems the removal was based on the Hungarian State Borders Act. The applicant complains that he was part of a collective expulsion, in breach of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention. He also complains under Article 13 of the Convention in conjunction with Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 that he had no effective remedy at his disposal.
New development
On 18th January 2024 the ECtHR released its judgment in the case of K.P. v. Hungary and found for the applicant. Following its previous judgment in Shazad v. Hungary (case n° 12625/17), the Court found that Hungary violated Article 4 of Protocol No 4 prohibiting collective expulsions since the removal was carried out without a decision or an examination of the applicant’s situation. It further noted the vulnerability of the applicant, an unaccompanied minor, and emphasised that the state of vulnerability should take precedence over the applicant’s status of irregular migrant. The Court found that no effective remedy was available to contest the expulsion in violation of Article 13 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 4 of Protocol No. 4.