Luxembourg, 29/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - In response to a question raised by the Court of Appeal in London, the fifth Chamber of the European Court of Justice, presided by Judge Melchior Wathelet, took position in the Yiadom affair, after the name of a national of the Netherlands, originally from Ghana, involved in an illegal immigration racket and who had received the order to leave British territory.
The fifth Chamber was to tackle one particularity of English law. Legal fiction, in fact, that means no one can be physically allowed to enter British territory without having been the subject of an entry decision. When the authorities decide not to allow the person to "enter" the United Kingdom, that person must leave the United Kingdom to challenge this refusal. (Ed.: What the English call "out of the country right of appeal).
The Court states that, if a State accepts the physical presence of a Community national during a period that obviously exceeds the requirements of verification, it can also allow the presence of this national during the time needed for the latter to follow the procedural path set out in the European directive. Article 9 of the 1964 directive on expelling Community nationals for public order reasons guarantees means of defence for the Community nationals expelled. The lawyer for Nana Yaa Yiadom stated that an EU national under expulsion measure or refused admission is entitled to take action before the courts in the same way as nationals challenging other administrative decisions.