Lexploria

Application No. 17624/91

by E.K.

against the Netherlands

The European Commission of Human Rights (Second Chamber) sitting

in private on 13 May 1993, the following members being present:

MM. S. TRECHSEL, President of the Second Chamber

A. WEITZEL

J.-C. SOYER

H.G. SCHERMERS

H. DANELIUS

Mrs. G.H. THUNE

MM. F. MARTINEZ

J.-C. GEUS

M.A. NOWICKI

I. CABRAL BARRETO

Mr. K. ROGGE, Secretary to the Second Chamber

Having regard to Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection

of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;

Having regard to the application introduced on 30 December 1990

by E.K. against the Netherlands and registered on 8 January 1991 under

file No. 17624/91;

Having regard to the report provided for in Rule 47 of the Rules

of Procedure of the Commission;

Having deliberated;

Decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicant is a Turkish national, born in 1951 and currently

residing at Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Before the Commission she is

represented by Mrs. T.L. Tan, a lawyer practising in Amsterdam.

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be

summarised as follows.

The applicant entered the Netherlands for the first time on 28

September 1974 in order to join her husband, whom she had married in

1966. On 18 October 1974 she obtained a residence permit for family

reunification, which was last prolonged until 3 August 1976.

On 27 June 1975 she gave birth to her daughter Bahtiyar. In

August 1976 the family returned to Turkey for a holiday. After some

weeks the applicant's husband took her passport and residence permit

and returned alone to the Netherlands. Also in August 1976 the

applicant's name was removed from the Netherlands aliens administration

register on the ground that she had returned to Turkey.

On 6 October 1976 the applicant gave birth to a second daughter,

Bahtisen. Her husband visited her in Turkey in July 1977 and, promising

that the family would soon be reunited, took Bahtiyar back with him to

the Netherlands.

In 1977 the applicant's husband filed an action for divorce in

Turkey, which was rejected by the Court of Nevsehir on 15 July 1980.

With the help of two brothers who reside in the Netherlands, the

applicant managed to obtain a new passport and in December 1981

returned to the Netherlands, where she took up residence and gradually

re-established the contacts with Bahtiyar.

After an earlier rejection by the Regional Court

(Arrondissementsrechtbank) of Zutphen of a divorce action filed by the

applicant's husband, he started new divorce proceedings against the

applicant on 31 December 1987 before the Regional Court of Amsterdam,

which are still pending.

In the course of 1988 Bahtiyar left her father and moved in with

her mother. By judicial order of 12 January 1989 the Juvenile Court

judge (Kinderrechter) of Zutphen placed Bahtiyar under supervision

(ondertoezichtstelling). In the course of the divorce proceedings the

applicant, by an interim measure of 30 January 1989, was provisionally

entrusted with the care of Bahtiyar. In May 1989, following the death

of the applicant's mother in Turkey, Bahtisen also moved to the

Netherlands in order to rejoin her mother and sister.

Since her return to the Netherlands in 1981 the applicant has

tried to obtain a residence permit on several occasions, which has

resulted in two, for the applicant unfavourable, final decisions of 25

June 1987 by the Judicial Division of the Council of State (Afdeling

Rechtspraak van de Raad van State).

On 22 February 1989 the applicant filed a new request for a

residence permit for family reunification with her daughter Bahtiyar,

who has in the meantime obtained the Dutch nationality. Her request was

rejected by the Deputy Minister of Justice (Staatssecretaris van

Justitie) on 2 August 1989. Her subsequent request to the Deputy

Minister to reconsider the decision of 2 August 1989 was rejected on

21 February 1990.

On 23 May 1990 the applicant filed an appeal against this

decision with the Judicial Division of the Council of State. In May

1990 the Juvenile Court judge ordered that Bahtiyar provisionally be

placed outside her family. At present Bahtiyar lives in a home for

girls.

By judgment of 25 October 1990 the President of the Regional

Court of The Hague, in summary proceedings, rejected the applicant's

request for a suspension of her expulsion pending the proceedings

before the Judicial Division.

The applicant filed an appeal against this decision with the

Court of Appeal (Gerechtshof) of The Hague.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complained under Article 8 of the Convention that

the Dutch authorities' refusal to grant her a residence permit and her

expulsion to Turkey unjustly interfered with her right to respect for

her family life with her daughter Bahtiyar.

PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION

The application was introduced on 30 December 1990 and registered

on 8 January 1991.

On 14 January 1991 the Commission rejected the applicant's

request for a ruling under Rule 36 of the Commission's Rules of

Procedure.

On 31 March 1993 the Commission decided to adjourn its

examination of the application and to request the applicant to submit

further information on the state of the domestic proceedings.

By letter of 13 April 1993 the applicant's representative

informed the Commission that the applicant wishes to withdraw her

application, as she has received permission to stay in the Netherlands.

REASONS FOR THE DECISION

Having regard to Article 30 para. 1 (a) of the Convention, the

Commission notes that the applicant does not intend to pursue her

application since she has been granted permission to stay in the

Netherlands. It finds no special circumstances regarding respect for

human rights as defined in the Convention which require examination of

the application to be continued, in accordance with Article 30 para.

1 in fine of the Convention.

For these reasons, the Commission unanimously

DECIDES TO STRIKE THE APPLICATION OFF ITS LIST OF CASES.

Secretary to the Second Chamber President of the Second Chamber

(K. ROGGE) (S. TRECHSEL)

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E.K. v. THE NETHERLANDS

E.K. v. THE NETHERLANDS

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