THE FACTS

Whereas the facts presented by the applicant may be summarised

as follows:

The applicant is an Australian citizen of Greek extraction, born in

1948. According to the applicant, he also possesses Greek nationality.

He is at present detained in prison at Matraville, New South Wales,

Australia.

On 4 October 1968, the applicant lodged a previous application No.

3833/68 against Sweden. When lodging this application he was detained

in prison in Stockholm.

The applicant originally complained of his detention in the Federal

Republic of Germany pending extradition to Sweden. This complaint was,

however, withdrawn before the application was registered.

Having been extradited to Sweden, the applicant was, at a date not

indicated by him, sentenced for fraud by a Swedish court to six months'

imprisonment and expulsion (förvisning). It appears that the applicant

appealed to the Court of Appeal (Svea hovrätt) in Stockholm against the

expulsion order but not against his conviction and prison sentence. The

applicant subsequently withdrew his appeal as he did not consider that

he had any legal grounds on which he could challenge his expulsion.

On 4 October 1968, the applicant submitted that he would be

conditionally released from prison on 11 November 1968, and that he

would be expelled on the same day. He did not object to his expulsion

as such, but complained that he had been informed by the authorities

concerned that he would be deported to Australia, although he had no

wish to go there and had requested to be sent to Greece.

The applicant maintained that the relevant provisions of the Swedish

Aliens Act (utlänningslagen), which stipulate that a deportee shall be

primarily sent to his home country, are inconsistent with the

Convention and (Fourth) Protocol. In particular, he claimed that Sweden

had no right to ensure that he left Swedish territory. He also alleged

that, during the transport from Sweden, he would in fact be detained

contrary to Article 5 of the Convention as he would either be sent

under escort or come under the supervision of the purser of the

aircraft concerned.

Having regard to the fact that the applicant was apparently to be

expelled from Sweden before the Commission's next session, beginning

on 16 December 1968, the Secretary of the Swedish Government in

accordance with the established practice in similar cases of emergency

in order to draw the Government's attention to the situation.

On 4 November 1968, the Secretary was informed orally by the Head of

the Legal Department of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs that

representations had been made to the competent authority to postpone,

if possible, the expulsion of the applicant until after the

Commission's forthcoming session. In a letter of ??? November 1968, the

Ministry informed the applicant of the steps taken by the Ministry in

order to avoid the deportation being carried out before the Commission

had examined the application.

In a letter of 6 November 1968, the applicant stated that he wished to

withdraw his application to the Commission since the Swedish

authorities were now prepared to send him to Greece. It appeared that,

by then, the Australian Embassy in Stockholm had agreed to issue the

necessary travel documents and that the Greek Consulate had given the

applicant reason to believe that he would be allowed to enter Greece.

He had, however, been unofficially informed that the expulsion would

not take place while his application was pending before the Commission,

and advised to withdraw his application in order to avoid a further

period of detention pending deportation. In view of the fact that he

was thus allowed to go to Greece as he had requested, the applicant

stated that he had no interest in maintaining his application. The

Swedish Government was then informed of the applicant's proposed

withdrawal.

On 13 December 1968, the Commission  decided to strike the application

off its list of cases in view of the applicant's withdrawal of the

application.

On 3 January 1969, the applicant requested, however, that the

Commission should take up his case again and the present application

was accordingly registered on 13 January 1969.

The applicant submits that on 20 November 1969, he was taken from the

prison and brought to the Stockholm airport by two police officers who

told him that he was going to Greece. On arrival in Athens, a few hours

later, he was placed in the custody of the Greek police. The applicant

informed the officers of the Greek Customs Service that he was a Greek

national by birth according to the relevant provisions of the Greek

Nationality Code and that he wanted to stay in Greece, but they told

him that the Swedish escorting officers had informed them that he was

under extradition order and, therefore, Greek or not, he was forced by

virtue of this to go to the country named in the order. He further

alleges that, at the request of the Swedish officers, his papers were

kept from him while he was in the custody of the Greek police and that

this contributed to the refusal of the Greek authorities to allow him

to enter the country.

In this connection, the applicant refers to a letter of .. October

1968, from the Greek Acting Consul in Stockholm confirming that he was

a Greek national and informing him of the formalities required in order

to claim his Greek nationality. He was further told that in the

Consul's opinion, he could be admitted to Greece as long as he was in

possession of a valid Australian passport. The applicant also refers

to a letter from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the same date

in reply to a letter addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister in which

the applicant had explained his position and reasons for wanting to go

to Greece. The applicant claims that, had he been able to contact the

Minister while at the airport, he would undoubtedly have been allowed

to stay once the facts were made known to him.

The applicant states that he was, however, held in custody for 24 hours

in Athens without being allowed to contact anybody. He was then

forcedly put on an aeroplane to Australia. For the first time he then

discovered that his ticket was issued for a journey Stockholm - Athens

- Sydney.

On arrival in Australia, the two Swedish police officers who had

escorted him, handed him over to the Australian police who were waiting

for him. According to the applicant, they had been informed a week in

advance of his estimated time of arrival.

The applicant alleges that the Swedish authorities acted illegally in

forcing him to go to Australia when, in the applicant's opinion, he had

written permission to enter Greece. They were further aware of the fact

that he had already signed papers before the Australian Consul in

Stockholm renouncing his Australian citizenship. Accordingly, the

Swedish authorities violated "internationally recognised agreements

which prescribe that in a third country, a man who holds two

nationalities will be recognised as holding only one, the nationality

to which he is the closest".

He further maintains that undue pressure was brought upon him to

withdraw his previous application since he was threatened with loss of

remission time unless he withdrew it. He claims that he withdrew the

case only after the Swedish authorities had promised that he would then

immediately be deported to Greece.

The applicant complains that, although his application was proceeding

before the Commission until it was struck off the list on 13 December

1968, he was already deported on 20 November. He contends that, if he

had been given more time, he could have made sure through the Greek

Government and the Commission that he would actually be going to Greece

as he had been promised.

The applicant claims compensation to the amount of 500 dollars for loss

of savings while he is being held in custody in Australia and the cost

of an economy class seat on a flight from Sydney to Athens.

THE LAW

Whereas, the applicant's complaints relate to his expulsion from Sweden

after conviction by the competent Swedish Court;

Whereas he states that the subject of his application is not the order

to expel him as such but the decision of the Swedish authorities,

pursuant to the expulsion order, to send him to Australia and also the

detention to which he was subject during the execution of this decision

and after leaving Sweden;

Whereas it is first to be observed that, according to constant

jurisprudence of the Commission, the right of an individual to reside

in, or not to be expelled from a particular country of which he is not

a national, is not as such among the rights and freedoms guaranteed by

the Convention (see for example decisions Nos. 238/56 - X. v. Denmark,

Yearbook, Vol. I, p. 205 and 3040/67 - X. v. Federal Republic of

Germany , Collection of Decisions, Vol. 22, p. 133);

Whereas, furthermore, the Commission notes that the restriction of the

applicant's liberty in the flight from Stockholm to Athens and again

from Athens to Australia was in execution of the expulsion order;

Whereas the commission is satisfied that this restriction constituted

a detention within the meaning of Article 5 paragraph (1) (f)

(Art. 5-1-f), of the Convention (Application No. 1983/63 - X. v.

Netherlands, Yearbook, Vol. VIII, p. 228);

Whereas, in examining the complaints relating to the applicant's

detention in Athens and the refusal of permission to enter Greece, the

Commission has also had regard to the provisions of Article 3 of the

Fourth Protocol (P4-3) to the Convention which stipulates that no one

shall be expelled from or deprived of the right to enter the territory

of which he is a national; whereas, in this connection, the Commission

considers that it has not been clearly established that the applicant

is a Greek national; whereas even assuming that he could claim such

nationality, it is to be observed that his detention in Athens and the

refusal to permit him to enter Greece were measures for which the Greek

authorities were solely responsible; whereas this application is not

directed against Greece, nor has the Greek Government, in fact,

recognised the Commission's competence to receive petitions under

Article 25 (Art. 25) of the Convention; whereas, accordingly, the

applicant's detention and subsequent forced departure from Greece

cannot constitute a violation of Article 3 of the Fourth Protocol

(P4-3) for which the Swedish authorities could be held responsible;

Whereas, it follows that the application is manifestly ill-founded

within the meaning of Article 27, paragraph (2) (Art. 27-2), of the

Convention;

Now therefore the Commission DECLARES THIS APPLICATION INADMISSIBLE