Article 5 European Convention On Human Rights (right To Liberty And Security) And The Preventive Police Custody İn The Light Of The Case Ostendorf V. Germany

AHİS m.5 (Özgürlük ve Güvenlik Hakkı) ve Ostendorf / Almanya’ya Karşı Davası Işığında Önleyici Polis Gözaltısı

Maria GRIGAT

On 07.03.2013 the European Court of Human Rights decided in favour of the country Germany in the case Ostendorf v. Germany. Ostendorf had been a violent supporter of the football team in Bremen. In 2004 he got arrested when he travelled to a football match in Frankfurt am Main. The police considered him to be a „gang leader“ organizing an altercation between the two different supporter factions. When he was hiding in the ladies‘ room while actually under police surveillance the police officers were sure the applicant wanted to organize a fight between the supporters by using his mobile phone. In the further events he got arrested and his mobile phone was seized. Ostendorf was released one hour after the match was over. The Court decided that the detention could be justified under Article 5 § 1 (b) ECHR as the detention was necessary in order to secure the fulfilment of any obligation prescribed by law. For the majority it was clear, the obligation Ostendorf was obliged to fulfil was sufficiently specific. The majority did not see Article 5 § 1 (c) fulfilled as to that point it had been necessary that the detention was in combination with a crime already done. Judges Lemmens and Jäderblom expressed a concurring opinion, as they had seen the detention justified under Article 5 § 1 (c). For them it was not necessary a crime has already been committed as „bringing someone before the legal authorities“ does not only mean bringing „criminal proceedings“ against the person. All in all most important in the decision is the fact, that the court did not see any violation of Article 5 § 1 ECHR.

Article 5 ECHR, Preventive Police Custody, Football Hooligans, Right to Liberty and Security.

07.03.2013 tarihinde Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi (“Mahkeme”) Ostendorf Almanya’ya karşı davasında Almanya lehine karar vermiştir. Ostendorf, Bremen futbol takımının şiddetli bir taraftarıdır. 2004’te, Frankfurt am Main’de bir futbol maçı için yolculuk yaparken tutuklanmıştır. Polis, onun iki rakip takımın taraftarları arasında münakaşa organize eden bir “çetenin lideri” olabileceğini düşünmüştür. Polis nezaretindeyken kadınlar tuvaletinde saklanmasından dolayı polis başvurucunun cep telefonunu kullanarak rakip takımlar arasında bir kavga organize ettiğinden emin olmuştur. Daha sonra tutuklanmış ve de cep telefonuna el konulmuştur. Ostendorf, maç bittikten bir saat sonra serbest bırakılmıştır. Mahkeme, Avrupa İnsan Hakları Sözleşmesi’nin 5/1-b maddesinde alıkoymanın kanun tarafından öngörülmüş herhangi bir yükümlülüğün yerine getirilmesi koşuluyla gerekli olacağı şeklinde belirtildiği çerçevede olması koşuluyla özgürlükten yoksun bırakılmanın hukuka uygun olacağını söylemiştir. Çoğunluk için, Ostendorf ile ilgili olan yükümlülüğün yerine getirilmesi yeteri kadar özel olduğu aşikardır. Çoğunluk, işlenmiş bir suça bağlı olarak kişinin tutulmasının gerekli olacağını belirten madde 5/1-c’nin yerine getirildiğini düşünmemektedir. Judges Lemmens ve Jäderblom, tutulmanın madde 5/1-c kapsamında olduğunu ayrık müşterek görüşlerinde ifade etmişlerdir. Onlara göre birinin yasal otoritelerin önüne getirilmesinin sadece bir kişiye karşı cezai sürecin işletilmiş olması anlamına gelmediği gibi suçun işlenmiş olmasına da gerek yoktur. Her şey göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, karardaki en önemli husus, Mahkeme madde 5/1’in ihlal edildiğini düşünmemektedir.

AİHS MADDE 5, Önleyici Polis Gözaltısı, Futbol Holiganları, Özgürlük ve Güvenlik Hakkı.

1. Preface

This case deals with the interpretation of sub- paragraphs (b) and (c) of Article 5 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights had to decide whether the German authorities deprived Mr. Henrik Ostendorf of his liberty guaranteed in Article 5 § 1 of the Convention. The deprivation of the right to liberty and security has to be defined from the restriction of free movement, as the latter one is an intervention in the right of liberty and security¹. But also a short time deprivation of liberty falls in the scope of Article 5 § 1 ECHR². Most importation as from the view of the case are the letters (b) and (c), where a person can be deprived of their liberty when they do not fulfill a specific and concrete obligation incumbent on him, the latter one can be applicable if one want to bring someone before the competent legal authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or when it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the person committing an offence or fleeing after having done so. In former times the European Court of Human Rights had frequently to deal with the aspect of deprivation of liberty. But this time nobody was sure if the court might declare the preventive police custody in Germany unlawful.

2. Preventive Police custody in Germany (Land of Hesse)

There are three relevant sections dealing with the preventive police custody in Germany. As the following case was going to take place in the Land of Hesse, the law is only referred to this federal state. Section 32 § 1 no. 2 Hessian Public Security and Order Act allows the police to take a person into custody if this is indispensable in order to prevent the imminent commission or continuation of a criminal or regulatory offence of considerable importance in the general public. Furthermore Section 33 § 1 clarifies that the Police shall obtain, without delay, a judicial decision on the lawfulness and continuation of the deprivation of liberty. Last but not least Section 35 § 1 Hessian Public Security and Order Act orders, that a detained person shall be released as soon as grounds for the detention are ceased to exist.

3. The Case of Ostendorf v. Germany (application no. 15598/08)

The applicant, Henrik Ostendorf, is a German national who was born in 1968 and lives in Bremen (Germany). He supports the Werder Bremen football club, which plays in the German Federal Football league. Since 1996 Ostendorf was registered in the police database as a person prepared to use violence in the context of sports events. Furthermore he is registered in a German wide database of persons prepared to use violence in the context of sports events. Only persons against whom are criminal proceedings have been opened are entered in this database. Between 1996 and 2003 eight different incidents could be counted in which Ostendorf might have been involved.