CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 26 avril 2018

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s598389FB { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:14pt } .sF5E1C6CF { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline; color:#ff0000 } .sE208486F { font-family:Arial; color:#ff0000 } .s598389F8 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:11pt } .s4ACA9207 { page-break-before:always; clear:both; mso-break-type:section-break } .s9793A85B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .sB9D5CABB { width:28.35pt; display:inline-block } .sD3B63DAD { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s79DE5897 { margin-top:18pt; margin-left:17.85pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-17.85pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .sA8776625 { margin-top:18pt; margin-left:29.2pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-17.6pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s33165EBA { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .s34D46E87 { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:10pt } .sF7A86111 { margin-top:6pt; margin-left:21.25pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-indent:7.1pt; font-size:10pt } .s72C8F48C { margin-top:12pt; margin-left:36.6pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-indent:-15.05pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .sA20670C4 { margin-top:12pt; margin-left:48.75pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-indent:-17pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:10pt } .sF66B8D08 { margin-top:18pt; margin-left:17.85pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-17.85pt } .s76CC6FD2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:17pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-17pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s583D00FA { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:17pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-17pt } .s26FF04E7 { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:17.3pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s64E792FA { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:39.7pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s4B243ECC { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .sF7A4323 { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s28BDCFEA { width:6.53pt; display:inline-block } .s562DAB76 { width:148.76pt; display:inline-block } .s7602FED2 { width:18.21pt; display:inline-block } .s6B737D45 { width:205.46pt; display:inline-block } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } .sC36A6361 { font-family:Arial; color:#000000 }       FIRST SECTION             CASE OF HOTI v. CROATIA   (Application no. 63311/14)               JUDGMENT         STRASBOURG   26   April 2018   FINAL   26/07/2018   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Hoti v. Croatia, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, President,   Aleš Pejchal,   Krzysztof Wojtyczek,   Ksenija Turković,   Armen Harutyunyan,   Pauliine Koskelo,   Tim Eicke, judges, and Abel Campos, Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 3   April 2018, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in an application (no. 63311/14) against the Republic of Croatia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by Mr Bedri Hoti (“the applicant”) on 15 September 2014. 2.     The applicant was represented by Ms N. Owens, a lawyer practising in Zagreb. The Croatian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms Š. Stažnik. 3.     The applicant alleged that he had not had an effective possibility to regularise his residence status in Croatia, and that he was discriminated against in that respect. He relied on Article 8 of the Convention, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 14, and on Article 1 of Protocol No. 12. 4.     On 9 February 2015 the application was communicated to the Government. In addition, third-party comments were received from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UNHCR) (Article 36 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 44 § 3 of the Rules of Court). THE FACTS I.     THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 5.     The applicant was born in 1962 and lives in Novska. He is of Albanian origin. A.     Background to the case 6.     In 1960 the applicant’s parents fled Albania as political refugees and settled in Kosovo, [1] which was at the relevant time an autonomous province of Serbia. They were granted refugee status in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (“the SFRY”). The SFRY was a federal State composed of six republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia (with two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo), Slovenia, Montenegro and Macedonia. 7.     The applicant was born in Kosovo soon after his parents’ arrival to the SFRY. In 1979 the applicant, at the time seventeen years old, came from Kosovo to Croatia. He settled in Novska, where he has lived ever since. 8.     The applicant has no family in Croatia. Since moving to Croatia, his parents have died in Kosovo. For a while, the applicant maintained a relationship with his two sisters, who lived in Germany and Belgium (see paragraphs 21, 29 and 35 below). In 2014 he declared to the domestic authorities that his only close relative was his sister in Belgium, with whom he had lost contact (see paragraph 48 below). 9.     In 1987 the applicant applied for a permanent residence permit to the relevant police station in Novska. 10.     He was instructed by the Novska police that he should regularise his status in Kosovo, where he had been officially registered. However, as the applicant refused to do that, he was provided with a temporary residence permit in Novska for the period between 4 January and 30 June 1988, pending the determination of his request for a permanent residence permit. 11.     At the relevant time, the applicant possessed a certificate issued by the SFRY authorities in Kosovo in 1988 indicating that he had been an Albanian national with the status of a foreigner holding a temporary residence permit in the SFRY. The certificate also indicated that the applicant’s parents had been nationals of Albania living in the SFRY as refugees. 12.     On 2 February 1989 the Ministry of the Interior of the then Socialist Republic of Croatia informed the Novska police that the applicant’s application for a permanent residence permit in the SFRY had been refused in accordance with the government policy according to which Albanian refugees should be instructed to apply for the SFRY citizenship. 13.     On 22 February 1989 the applicant was interviewed by the Novska police in connection with the Ministry of the Interior’s instruction. He explained that he had been granted a temporary residence permit by the relevant authorities in Kosovo which was valid until July 1989. He also stated that he had attempted to travel to Germany but had not had a valid visa and had thus been refused entry. At the time he was waiting for a visa for Belgium. The applicant further explained that he hoped to be granted a permanent residence permit but that he was not interested in acquiring SFRY citizenship as that would not provide him with any security. He considered that by acquiring SFRY citizenship, he should be granted a flat or a house in private ownership just as one had been granted to his father when he had come from Albania as a refugee. However, as he would not be granted any property, he refused to apply for SFRY citizenship. 14.     On 23 February 1989 the Novska police informed the Ministry of the Interior that the applicant had refused SFRY citizenship. The report further explained that the applicant was employed in a garage of a private entrepreneur, M.R., and that he had several times contacted the Novksa police insisting that he be granted permanent residence. The report also indicated that according to the available information the applicant had secured a temporary residence permit from the authorities in Kosovo until July 1989. 15.     A further report of the Novska police to the Ministry of the Interior of 26 February 1990 indicated that the applicant was still living in Novska and working in a restaurant. As his temporary residence permit issued by the authorities in Kosovo had expired, he had been instructed to regularise his status. This report also contains a handwritten note dated 12 June 1990 according to which the applicant had come to the police station and presented an identity card for a foreigner with temporary residence status in the SFRY issued by the relevant authorities in Kosovo and valid until 5   November 1991. 16.     On 25 June 1991 the Croatian Parliament ( Sabor Republike Hrvatske ) declared Croatia independent of the SFRY, and on 8 October 1991 all ties between Croatia and the SFRY were severed. 17.     Meanwhile, war broke out in Croatia and the applicant was called up for mandatory civilian service with the local authorities. On 22 March 1992 the Novska police issued a permit to the applicant to move freely within the region of Novska-Kutina in order to perform his mandatory civilian service. The permit was valid until 31 December 1992. B.     The applicant’s application for Croatian citizenship 18.     On 9 June 1992 the applicant applied for Croatian citizenship with the Novska police. He submitted that he had been living at his current address in Novska since 1980s, and that he had been a refugee from Albania. He also explained that he was working in a garage of a private entrepreneur, Z.A. 19.     On 20 July 1992 the Novska police forwarded the applicant’s application to the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia ( Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova Republike Hrvatske – hereinafter “the Ministry”) with a suggestion that it be granted. 20.     On 2 November 1992 the Ministry instructed the Novska police that they had failed to provide a report concerning the applicant’s personal circumstances and information on his residence in Croatia. 21.     In connection with the above application, on 16 December 1992 the applicant was interviewed by the Novska Police. In his interview, the applicant explained that he had Albanian nationality as he had been a refugee from that country. He further explained that he had come to Novska in 1979 where he had first worked as a waiter until 1984. Between 1986 and 1989 he had worked as a car mechanic for a private entrepreneur, M.R., and since 1989 for Z.A. During the war he had worked as a car mechanic for the police and the army. He was not married and did not have children. He had a sister living in Germany and one living in Belgium. He also had a brother living in Kosovo and another brother living at an unknown place in Albania. His parents lived in Kosovo. 22.     On 18 December 1992 the Novska police informed the Ministry of the obtained information explaining that the applicant had lived in Novska as a foreigner since 1980 and that he had Albanian citizenship. 23.     In May 1993 the national intelligence agency informed the Novska police that there was nothing preventing the applicant from being allowed to acquire Croatian citizenship. 24.     According to the available information, the file concerning the applicant’s application also contained a birth certificate issued by the SFRY authorities in Kosovo on 23 December 1987 according to which the applicant did not have any nationality. 25.     On 14 June 1993 the Ministry issued an assurance that the applicant would obtain Croatian citizenship if he obtained a release or provided evidence that he had renounced his Albanian citizenship within a period of two years. In its reasoning to this assurance, the Ministry explained that the applicant had met all the necessary conditions to be granted the assurance and thus Croatian citizenship. It also referred to section 8a of the Croatian Citizenship Act (see paragraph 60 below). 26.     Upon the expiry of the above-noted period of two years, on 16   February 1995 the applicant lodged a new application for Croatian citizenship with the Novska Police. He explained that he was a national of Albania and that he had been living in Croatia since 1979. He was asking for Croatian citizenship in order to obtain legal certainty of his position. He stressed that he was ready to renounce his current citizenship and that he had nowhere to go back to in Kosovo. He also explained that he was employed as a car mechanic. 27.     Meanwhile, the applicant had obtained a permit for extended residence of a foreigner (he was considered to be an Albanian citizen) from the Novska police for the period between September 1993 and September 1994, which was first extended until September 1995 and then January 1996. He was also granted a driving licence on 14 April 1994 valid until 19   November 2027. 28.     In February 1995 the intelligence agency informed the Novska police that there was no bar to the applicant’s acquiring Croatian citizenship. 29.     A report on the applicant’s personal circumstances prepared by the Novska police on 8 March 1995 indicated that he had lived in Croatia since 1979. The report contains a statement that the applicant had an Albanian passport issued in Kosovo (then part of Serbia) and that he had allegedly disappeared from his place of residence during the war in Croatia. It also suggests that the applicant socialised with individuals of similar characteristics who were involved in trading of grey-market goods and repairing cars. Moreover, the report alleged that the applicant had never tried to regularise his status in Croatia. The report also indicated that the applicant’s parents had died and that he had two sisters, who lived in Germany and Belgium. 30.     On 28 March 1995 the Novska police informed the Ministry that the applicant had had a registered residence in Croatia since September 1993 (see paragraph 27 above). 31.     On 3 August 1995 the Ministry dismissed the applicant’s application for Croatian citizenship on the grounds that he did not have a registered residence in Croatia for an uninterrupted period of five years as required by section 8(1)(3) of the Croatian Citizenship Act (see paragraph 60 below). 32.     The applicant challenged the above decision before the Administrative Court ( Upravni sud Republike Hrvatske ). He argued that he had had a registered residence in Novska since 1979 and that his personal circumstances had been well known to the Novska police. He also stressed that he was in employment and that he possessed an identity card and a driving licence issued by the Novska police. 33.     On 29 May 1996 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s administrative action on the grounds that there was no evidence that he had had a registered residence in Croatia since 1979. In fact, according to the Novska police’s report of 28 March 1995 (see paragraph 29 above), he had had a registered residence in Novska, as a foreigner with extended residence status, since 24 September 1993. In these circumstances, the Administrative Court considered that no available evidence suggested that the applicant had had an uninterrupted registered residence in Novska for a period of more than five years as required by section 8(1)(3) of the Croatian Citizenship Act. C.     The applicant’s application for a permanent residence permit 34.     On 13 November 2001 the applicant asked the Ministry to grant him a permanent residence permit. He argued that he was employed and had sufficient means of subsistence and a strong interest to live in Croatia. Together with his application, the applicant provided the birth certificate issued by the SFRY authorities in Kosovo on 23 December 1987 (see paragraph 24 above). He also provided his employment booklet according to which he had been employed in the periods between 1 July 1986 and 15   July 1987, 1 August 1987 and 1 December 1988, and 1 January 1989 and 31   December 1989 in the garage of M.R. 35.     A report on the applicant’s personal circumstances prepared by the Novska police on 24 April 2002 indicated that the applicant was a national of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro – hereinafter “the FRY”). According to the report, the applicant had settled in Novska in 1979 and had first worked in the garage of Z.A. until 1984; and then, between 1985 and 1990, in the garage of M.R. The report further indicated that the applicant was at that time unemployed and supported by his sisters in Germany and Belgium. He had lived in Novska for twenty-two years and had never left Croatia. The only document which he possessed was a driving licence. Up to that point he had been prosecuted only for a minor offence related to the status of aliens. 36.     On 29 April 2002 the Ministry instructed the Novska police that the applicant should also be interviewed in connection with his application. 37.     The applicant was interviewed by the Novska police on 10 June 2002. He explained that after he had been given an assurance of eligibility for Croatian citizenship (see paragraph 25 above) he had contacted the Albanian embassy several times. However, they had at first delayed their response and then dismissed his request. He had therefore been unable to obtain a certificate of renunciation of Albanian citizenship within the relevant period of two years. The applicant further explained how his second application for Croatian citizenship had been refused because he had not had a registered residence in Croatia for five years (see paragraphs   26 ‑ 33 above). 38.     In his interview the applicant also stated he did not have a travel document of any country. So far he had always relied on his Albanian citizenship but whenever he had tried to obtain Albanian travel documents, he had been orally refused. The same was true for his attempts to obtain travel documents from the FRY. The applicant further explained that he did not have a family and was not married. He wanted to stay in Novska because there he knew a lot of people and would be able to make a living there. 39.     On 3 July 2003 the Ministry dismissed the applicant’s application on the grounds that he did not meet the necessary statutory requirements under section 29(1) of the Movement and Stay of Foreigners Act (see paragraph 61 below). In particular, he was not married to a Croatian national or an alien with a permanent residence in Croatia, and he did not have three years of uninterrupted employment in Croatia. The Ministry also held that there was no particular interest of Croatia in granting him residence under section 29(2) of the Movement and Stay of Foreigners Act. The Ministry considered the applicant to be a national of Serbia and Montenegro. 40.     The applicant challenged this decision before the Administrative Court. He argued that the fact that he had previously been a national of Serbia and Montenegro and had resided in Croatia since 1979 qualified him for permanent residence in Croatia. The applicant also contended that it was difficult for him to find a formal employment as he did not have permanent residence permit for Croatia. 41.     On 17 August 2006 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s administrative action as unfounded. The Administrative Court held that the Ministry had properly established that the applicant had failed to meet the statutory requirements under section 29(1) of the Movement and Stay of Foreigners Act as his employment booklet did not show that he had worked for an uninterrupted period of three years. Moreover, the Administrative Court considered that nothing in the circumstances of the case suggested that the applicant should be granted permanent residence under section 29(2) of that Act. 42.     The applicant then lodged a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court ( Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske ), challenging the decisions of the lower bodies. He argued that he had continuously lived in Croatia since 1979 and that he had worked. He argued that he should have been granted permanent residence. 43.     Meanwhile, the applicant obtained a note from M.R., for whom he had worked, attesting that he had been employed by M.R. in the period between 1986 and 1989 and that he had proved to be a hardworking and responsible employee. M.R. also promised to employ the applicant again and to secure him accommodation should he be granted permanent residence. 44.     On 1 October 2008 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant’s constitutional complaint as unfounded endorsing the reasoning of the Administrative Court. D.     The applicant’s stay on humanitarian grounds 45.     In the period between 26 July 2011 and 27 August 2013 the police three times temporarily extended the applicant’s residence for periods of one year by reference to the humanitarian grounds under the Aliens Act (see paragraph 62 below). In the relevant decisions, the applicant was considered to be a national of Kosovo. 46.     When extending his temporary residence permit on humanitarian grounds on 27 August 2013 for another year under section 65(1)(5) of the Aliens Act, the applicant was requested to provide a valid travel document as provided under section 52(4) of the Aliens Act (see paragraph 62 below). 47.     On 10 June 2014 the applicant again applied for an extension of his temporary residence permit. He argued that he did not have a travel document of Kosovo as he had not been there nor did he have any interest in going there. He explained that he just wanted to regularise his status in Croatia. 48.     In connection with his application for an extension of his temporary residence permit, in July 2014 the applicant was interviewed by the Novska police. A note on his interview indicated that the applicant was a national of Kosovo and that he had knowledge of the Albanian language. It also stated that the applicant had been employed by M.R. in the period between 1981 and 1991 and that during the war in Croatia he had worked for Z.A. repairing military and police vehicles until 1993. Since then he had been unemployed but had been earning money by helping out on the farms in the Novska area. His parents had died and the only close relative he had was a sister living in Belgium, with whom he had lost contact. The note further explained that the applicant’s neighbours had been interviewed and that they confirmed that he had been a good and hardworking person. The note also indicated that the applicant had committed several minor offences for which he had been fined and a criminal complaint had been lodged against him in connection with a road accident in which he had been involved. 49.     On 30 July 2014 the Ministry instructed the Novska police that there were no grounds to extend the applicant’s residence since he had failed to provide a valid travel document. 50.     The Novska police invited the applicant for an interview on 28   August 2014 at which he was informed of the Ministry’s instruction. The applicant explained that he had come to Croatia in 1979 and had no connection to Kosovo. He had had the status of a refugee from Albania until he had reached the age of eighteen, since that status had been granted to his parents. He stressed that he had lived his whole life in Novska. He also promised to contact the embassy of Kosovo in order to obtain a travel document and asked the Novska police not to dismiss his request. 51.     On 16 September 2014 the Novska police dismissed the applicant’s application for the extension of his temporary residence on humanitarian grounds. It held that the applicant did not meet the requirements for granting further temporary residence status as he had failed to provide a valid travel document and the Ministry had not given its consent to an extension of his residence permit. 52.     On 7 October 2014 the applicant challenged the decision of the Novska police before the Ministry, relying on Articles 8 and 14 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12. He argued that he had had SFRY citizenship, which he had lost in unclear circumstances following the dissolution of that country. As he had come from Kosovo to Croatia, it was possible that he was considered to be a national of Kosovo by the Croatian authorities, but in reality he did not have citizenship of that territory. The applicant also argued that he was not a classic alien but an individual who found himself in the very specific circumstances of the dissolution of the SFRY in a situation whereby he was no longer able to provide a valid travel document. He also contended that he had been erased from the register of domicile and residence in Croatia without ever being informed thereof. He was therefore unable to regularise his residence status in Croatia and thus to find employment, to move freely without valid documents or to travel, which was neither a lawful nor a proportionate interference with his Article   8 rights. Moreover, the applicant contended that there was a gap in the relevant domestic law as the status of individuals who found themselves in his situation following the dissolution of the SFRY was not regulated. Accordingly, a strict formal application of the Aliens Act could not lead to a solution in his case. 53.     On 30 January 2015 the Ministry dismissed the applicant’s appeal. It referred to the applicant’s previous attempts to regularise his status in Croatia, which had all been unsuccessful. According to the Ministry, this showed that he had not been erased from the relevant registers without being informed. The Ministry further stressed that the applicant had been invited several times to provide a valid travel document and he had promised to contact the embassy of Kosovo in this connection but had failed to do so. Accordingly, in the Ministry’s view, his arguments that he had not been a typical alien and that the relevant authorities had formalistically applied the relevant law had been misplaced. Moreover, there was a possibility for him to obtain a temporary travel document in order to travel to his country of origin so as to obtain a valid travel document. 54.     On 25 February 2015 the applicant challenged the Ministry’s decision before the Zagreb Administrative Court. He contended that he had been a national of the SFRY and that he had had a registered residence in Novska since he had arrived there in 1979, which had been erased at a later stage. He also relied on his available birth certificate showing that he did not have any citizenship (see paragraph 58 below). He also reiterated his complaints of an unjustified infringement of his Article 8 rights by a decision of the administrative authorities and a breach of Article 14 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12. On 21 April 2017 the Zagreb Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s administrative action endorsing the reasoning of the Ministry’s decision. The applicant challenged these findings before the High Administrative Court ( Visoki upravni sud Republike Hrvatske ) and the proceedings are still pending. 55.     Meanwhile, on 4 September 2015 the Novska police granted the applicant temporary residence status on humanitarian grounds for a further year inviting him to provide a valid travel document. The Novska police held that the applicant was a national of Kosovo whose parents had come from Albania to Kosovo and that they had had the status of refugees in the SFRY. It also stressed that the Ministry had given consent to the extension of the applicant’s temporary residence irrespective of the fact that he had not provided a valid travel document. 56.     On 4 October 2016 the Novska police extended the applicant’s residence status on humanitarian grounds for a further year. It referred to the same reasons as cited above. E.     Other relevant facts 57.     According to the applicant’s handwritten statement to his representative of 7 July 2015, he never had Albanian citizenship. He explained that he had contacted the Albanian embassy after he had been given an assurance that he had qualified for Croatian citizenship but they had told him that he had not been a national of that State (see paragraphs 25 and 37 above). The applicant further stressed that in his contacts with the police concerning the regularisation of his residence status, the police officers had always suggested that he had been an Albanian national. He also explained that he had been born in Kosovo and that his parents had had SFRY citizenship. He had come to Croatia in 1979. He simply wanted to regularise his status in Croatia. 58.     According to a birth certificate issued by the Kosovo authorities on 10 June 2009, the applicant’s parents had had Kosovo nationality but the applicant did not have that nationality. II.     RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW A.     Constitution of the Republic of Croatia 59.     The relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia ( Ustav Republike Hrvatske , Official Gazette nos. 56/1990, 135/1997, 8/1998, 113/2000, 124/2000, 28/2001, 41/2001, 55/2001, 76/2010, 85/2010 and 5/2014) read as follows: Article 33 “Foreign nationals and stateless persons may be given asylum in the Republic of Croatia, except if they are being prosecuted for non-political offences and acts contrary to the basic principles of international law. An alien residing lawfully in the territory of the Republic of Croatia cannot be expelled or extradited to another country save in the case of enforcement of a decision adopted in accordance with international law and [national] law.” Article 35 “Everyone has the right to respect for and legal protection of his or her private ... life ...” B.     Croatian Citizenship Act 60.     The relevant provisions of the Croatian Citizenship Act ( Zakon o hrvatskom državljanstvu , Official Gazette nos. 53/1991 and 28/1992), as applicable at the relevant time, read as follows: Section 8 “(1)     A foreigner may acquire Croatian citizenship by naturalisation if he or she has submitted an application [to that effect] and meets the following conditions: 1.     he or she has reached the age of eighteen and has a capacity to act; 2.     he or she has obtained a release from foreign citizenship or provided evidence that he or she would be released from foreign citizenship if given Croatian citizenship; 3.     at the moment of the submission of the application he or she has had a registered residence for an uninterrupted period of at least five years in Croatia; 4.     has proficiency in the Croatian language and Latin script; 5.     his or her behaviour suggests that he or she respects the legal order and customs of Croatia and accepts Croatian culture. (2)     It shall be considered that the requirement under point 2 of paragraph 1 of this section is met if the application has been submitted by a stateless person or a person who will lose his or her nationality following naturalisation. (3)     If a foreign country does not allow release from its citizenship or if it sets conditions for release that are impossible to meet, a statement of the person who has submitted an application [for naturalisation] renouncing his or her citizenship if given Croatian citizenship shall be sufficient.” Section 8a “(1)     A foreigner who submitted an application for Croatian citizenship and who, at the moment of the submission of the application, does not have release from foreign citizenship or has no evidence that he or she would be released from foreign citizenship after acquiring Croatian citizenship, can be given an assurance that he or she qualifies for Croatian citizenship if he or she meets all the other requirements under section 8 paragraph 1 of this Act. (2)     The assurance is valid for two years.” C.     Movement and Stay of Foreigners Act 61.     The relevant provision of the Movement and Stay of Foreigners Act ( Zakon o kretanju i boravku stranaca , Official Gazette no. 53/1991), applicable at the relevant time, provided: Section 29 “(1)     Permanent residence may be granted to a foreigner who is married at least for a year to a Croatian national or to an alien with a permanent residence permit in Croatia or who has at least three years of uninterrupted employment in Croatia. (2)     Exceptionally, permanent residence may be granted to other foreigners in view of the particular personal reasons or business-related reasons for which there is a particular economic interest of the Republic of Croatia or if other important interests of the Republic of Croatia exist.” Section 79 “(1)     The status of a permanently settled alien shall be recognised, subject to the principle of reciprocity, to all persons who were considered to be Yugoslav citizens under the existing legislation and who, on the day of the coming into force of this Act, are domiciled in the Republic of Croatia. (2)     A Yugoslav national who obtains the status of a permanently settled alien within the meaning of paragraph 1 of this section shall be considered an alien with extended residence status. (3)     Aliens who, according to the existing legislation, obtained the status of permanently settled aliens, aliens with temporary residence status or refugees, on the day of the coming into force of this Act shall maintain their status in accordance with the provisions of this Act.” D.     Aliens Act 62.     The relevant provisions of the Aliens Act ( Zakon o strancima , Official Gazette nos. 130/2011 and 74/2013) provide: Section 44 “A foreigner may have in Croatia short-term, temporary or permanent residence.” Section 47 “(1)     Temporary residence may be granted for the following purposes: ... 4.     humanitarian reasons; ...” Section 52 “(1)     Temporary residence shall be granted for a period of one year. (2)     A [foreigner’s] travel document must be valid for at least three months longer than the period for which the temporary residence is granted. (3)     A foreigner who has no valid travel document, and who submitted a request for temporary residence in Croatia, shall be granted temporary residence. (4)     The foreigner referred to in paragraph 3 of this section must provide a valid foreign travel document when submitting a request for extension of his or her temporary residence status.” Section 53 “(1) A request for the extension of temporary residence must be submitted at least sixty days before the expiry of the existing authorisation of temporary residence ... (2) The foreigner who has submitted a request for extension of temporary residence before the expiry of the existing authorisation of temporary residence can stay in Croatia until the decision upon the request becomes final and enforceable.” Section 54 “The temporary residence shall be granted to a foreigner if he or she: 1.     justifies the purpose of his or her temporary stay; 2.     holds a valid travel document; 3.     has sufficient means of subsistence; 4.     has health insurance; 5.     is not prohibited from entering and staying in Croatia; 6.     poses no threat to public order, national security or public health.“ Section 65 “(1)     Temporary residence for humanitarian reasons shall be granted to a foreigner in the following cases: ... 5.     serious justified grounds of a humanitarian nature. (2)     The foreigner referred to in paragraph 1 of this section does not have to meet the conditions under section 54 paragraph 1 points 3 and 4 of this Act. (3)     Before the granting of temporary residence under paragraph 1 point 5 of this section the police department or the police station shall seek the consent of the Ministry [of the Interior].” Section 73 “(3)     Without a [special] work permit ... [foreigners] may work in Croatia if [they have regularised their status] on the following grounds: ... 4.     temporary residence status for humanitarian reasons; ...” Section 92 “(1)     Permanent residence may be granted to a foreigner who, at the moment of the submission of his or her request, has five years of uninterrupted lawful residence in Croatia, which includes the [period of] temporary residence ... ... (3)     At the moment of the decision on the request for permanent residence, the foreigner must have an authorised temporary residence in Croatia.” Section 93 “... (4)     Stateless persons ... do not have to meet the requirement under section 96 paragraph 1 point 1 of this Act.” Section 96 “(1)     Permanent residence status shall be granted to a foreigner who, in addition to the requirements under section 92 of this Act, [meets the following conditions]: 1.     has a valid travel document; 2.     has sufficient means of subsistence; 3.     has health insurance; 4.     is proficient in the Croatian language and Latin script and has knowledge of Croatian culture and social order; 5.     poses no threat to public order, national security or public health.” E.     Administrative Procedure Act 63.     The Administrative Procedure Act ( Zakon o općem upravnom postupku , Official Gazette nos. 53/1991 and 103/1996), as applicable at the relevant time, in its relevant parts provided: Section 136 “(1)     The official conducting the proceedings can throughout the proceedings examine additional facts or take evidence also concerning the facts which have not been previously disclosed or determined. (2)     The official conducting the proceedings shall order proprio motu the taking of evidence if he or she finds that it is necessary for the determination of the matter.” Section 137 “(1)     The party is required to present the facts in his or her application correctly, faithfully and precisely. (2)     If the matter does not concern well-known facts, the party shall suggest evidence to be taken concerning his or her arguments and shall, if possible, provide [such evidence]. If the party fails to do that, the official conducting the proceedings shall invite him or her to do so. The party shall not be required to collect and submit evidence which can be more speedily and easily obtained by the body conducting the proceedings ... (3)     If the party was unable to submit evidence [as requested], the body conducting the proceedings cannot reject the applications ... but shall continue with the proceedings and, in accordance with the relevant procedural rules and the substantive law, determine the administrative matter.” F.     Relevant SFRY legislation 64.     The Government provided a text of the relevant provisions of the SFRY Movement and Stay of Foreigners Act (Official Gazette of the SFRY no. 57/1980) according to which a one year temporary residence status could be granted to a foreigner by the relevant body in one of the republics or autonomous provinces of the SFRY where the foreigner had residence (section 33). The Act also recognised the status of refugees (section 50) and provided that the children of individuals who had recognised refugee status enjoyed the same rights as their parents. However, after reaching the age of eighteen, the children of refugees were considered as foreigners with temporary residence status in the SFRY (section 52). III.     RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL LAW 65.     The relevant provisions of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 360, p. 117), 26 April 1954 (to which Croatia acceded on 12 October 1992 by succession), provide as follows: Article 1 – Definition of the term “stateless person” “1.     For the purpose of this Convention, the term “stateless person” means a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.” Article 6 – The term “in the same circumstances” “For the purpose of this Convention, the term “in the same circumstances” implies that any requirements (including requirements as to length and conditions of sojourn or residence) which the particular individual would have to fulfil for the enjoyment of the right in question, if he were not a stateless person, must be fulfilled by him, with the exception of requirements which by their nature a stateless person is incapable of fulfilling.” Article 12 – Personal status “1.     The personal status of a stateless person shall be governed by the law of the country of his domicile or, if he has no domicile, by the law of the country of his residence.” Article 25 – Administrative assistance “1.     When the exercise of a right by a stateless person would normally require the assistance of authorities of a foreign country to whom he cannot have recourse, the Contracting State in whose territory he is residing shall arrange that such assistance be afforded to him by their own authorities.” Article 32 – Naturalization “The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of stateless persons. They shall in particular make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings.” IV.     OTHER RELEVANT MATERIALS A.     Albanian Citizenship Act of 16 December 1946 66.     The Citizenship Act of the People’s Republic of Albania of 16   December 1946, followed by a decree of 1954 (see paragraph 70 below) and 1961, which remained in force until the democratic changes in Albania and the adoption of further provisions on citizenship in 1992 and the new law on the matter in 1998 (see paragraph 71 below), provided in its section 3 that Albanian citizenship may be obtained by origin, birth in Albania, naturalisation and according to the applicable international treaties. 67.     Section 4 specified that children obtain Albanian citizenship by origin if: parents were Albanian citizens; one of the parents was an Albanian citizen and the child had been born within a legal marriage concluded before the competent Albanian bodies; one of the parents was an Albanian citizen and lived together with the child in Albania permanently or had moved to Albania together with the child before the child had reached eighteen years of age; or if the child had moved to Albania permanently or to pursue studies. Citizenship could also be obtained when one of the parents was an Albanian citizen but the child had been born and lived with the parents abroad, if the parent who had Albanian citizenship had registered the child as an Albanian citizen in Albania within five years of the birth. If the child, based on the laws of the country where he or she had been born was considered an Albanian citizen, registration with the Albanian authorities was not a necessary condition to obtain Albanian citizenship. The provisions of this section applied even in cases where children had been born to a foreign citizen and it had been later proven that he or she had an Albanian father. 68.     Section 13 provided: A.     Absence “A citizen who resides continuously outside Albania loses Albanian citizenship if, within fifteen years of the day he or she reaches eighteen years of age, he or she has not fulfilled any public duty to the People’s Republic of Albania and in the last five years has not appeared in an Albanian representative office [lit. representation] or has not notified the Ministry of the Interior of his or her situation. The loss of citizenship because of absence is also extended to children who were born and have continuously lived outside the state, except when they have fulfilled the conditions provided by the first paragraph of this article. The Ministry of the Interior issues the decision of the loss of citizenship. The decision can be contested within two years of the date of its announcement in the Official Gazette.” B.     Albanian citizenship legislation in practice 69.     Within the framework of a European Union Democracy Observatory on Citizenship (EUDO-Citizenship) research project “The Europeanisation of Citizenship in the Successor States of the Former Yugoslavia”, in 2010 Gëzim Krasniqi produced a report entitled “Citizenship in an emigration nation-state: the case of Albania” where he addressed various issues of Albanian citizenship and the position of individuals who had emigrated from Albania to other countries, in particular to the SFRY. 70.     The report explains that section 13 of the Albanian Citizenship Act of 1946 was used as a tool of retaliation against the enemies of the regime (see paragraph 69 above). In addition, section 14 provided for a possibility of removal of citizenship for all those who were considered to be acting contrary to Albanian national interests. In 1954 a decree was enacted which vested wide discretionary powers in the hands of the President when dealing with the matters of removal of citizenship. 71.     The report also explains that under the post-communist Albanian Citizenship Act enacted in 1998, citizenship may be acquired by birth to at least one parent with Albanian citizenship. It may also be acquired by naturalisation, which requires that individuals who apply have lived in Albania for a certain period of time. However, there is a possibility of “facilitated naturalisation”, which applies to individuals who have renounced their Albanian citizenship in order to acquire the citizenship of another country. For such individuals it is sufficient to submit an application. However, in practice, they have faced many problems in re-acquiring citizenship. 72.     According to the available information, in the period between 1991 and 2007 some 3,184 individuals, mostly ethnic Albanians from the former Yugoslavia, acquired Albanian citizenship. Nevertheless, on a political level, although ethnic Albanians from the former Yugoslavia are given various forms of social and cultural preferential treatments, there has not been a full extension of citizenship rights. 73.     The procedure for acquiring Albanian citizenship starts by submitting an application to the relevant police directorate, which has two months to forward the application to the Ministry of the Interior. The latter should, within six months from the filing date of the application, decide whether to forward it to the Office of the President of the Republic. The President’s Office should then, within three months of receipt of the application, decide upon the application for citizenship. 74.     The report observes that, despite the above procedures, the implementation of the legislation still remains problematic in Albania. This in particular concerns the manner of registration of new-born children in the relevant registration offices; the fact that the civil register is not properly updated, so some individuals who have lost their citizenship are still registered as Albanian nationals; and there is a lack of transparency of the relevant procedures. THE LAW I.     ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 8 OF THE CONVENTION 75.     The applicant complained of the insecurity of his residence status in Croatia due to the fact that he had not had an effective possibility to regularise his residence status in Croatia. He relied on Article 8 of the Convention, which reads as follows: “1.     Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. 2.     There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.” A.     The Government’s request to strike out the application under Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention 76.     The Government informed the Court, in their