Published on 3 January 2022

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 27014/20 Liviu Claudiu SUCIU against the Netherlands lodged on 29 June 2020 communicated on 9 December 2021

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applicant’s pre-trial detention, which lasted from 19 November 2019 to 27 July 2020, was initially based on the existence of a reasonable suspicion of human trafficking causing serious physical harm and/or danger to the life of persons and on grounds relating to (1) a danger of absconding and (2) a serious upset to the legal order. At the preparatory trial hearing ( pro forma zitting ) held before the Rotterdam Regional Court on 16 April 2020, the applicant requested to have his pre-trial detention either lifted or suspended. After having deliberated, the Regional Court dismissed this request but held that the first ground mentioned above no longer obtained, which decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal of The Hague on 4 June 2020.

The applicant complained under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention that his pre-trial detention from 16 April 2020 onwards had been without adequate justification, or in the alternative, that the decisions taken by the Regional Court and by the Court of Appeal had lacked sufficient reasons.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

Was the applicant’s pre-trial detention in the period from 16 April 2020 until 27 July 2020 justified under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention? In particular, were the Regional Court’s and the Court of Appeal’s decisions of 16 April 2020 and 4 June 2020, respectively, sufficiently reasoned (see Tiron v. Romania , no. 17689/03, §§ 37-38, 7 April 2009; Geisterfer v. the Netherlands , no. 15911/08, §§ 38-39, 9 December 2014; and Maassen v. the Netherlands , no. 10982/15, §§ 55-59, 9 February 2021)?