CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 9 mai 2006

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .sEB86A30B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; page-break-after:avoid } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA241FE93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:18pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s8F2B0B1B { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s9FF10068 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5F48796F { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s5CB9E8AB { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; border-bottom:1pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .sDF790F1E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 86 May 2006 Custers and Others v. Denmark (dec.) - 11843/03 Decision 9.5.2006 [Section V] Article 7 Article 7-1 Nullum crimen sine lege Greenpeace activists found guilty of trespassing on military defence area on Greenland allegedly in the absence of legal authority and demarcation: admissible   In 2001 the applicants, members of Greenpeace, took part in an action near the American “Thule Air Base” in North-West Greenland, in order to attract international attention to the use of the Thule Radar for the American military programme “Star Wars”. Greenpeace’s request to be granted permission to visit the Dundas peninsula (where the base is located) had been refused by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 6   August   2001 the applicants went ashore south of the Thule Air Base and walked approximately 30 km to “Shelter 7” (over ten kilometres away from the built-up part of the Thule Air Base and over seven kilometres away from the Thule Radar) where they were arrested on 7 August 2001. They were charged with trespassing and released the following day. By judgment of 11 September 2001 the High Court of Greenland found that the applicants had violated Article 69 (a) of the Penal   Code and an Executive Order from 1967 on Travels to and within Greenland, which set out that permission must be obtained from the relevant authorities prior to accessing any defence area in Greenland. The court dismissed the applicants’ submission that their act did not constitute a criminal offence as the Executive Order allegedly had lacked legal authority and it could not be established whether or not they had trespassed within the meaning of the Penal Code, since the military area had never officially been demarcated. The applicants were each sentenced to a fine in an amount equal to EUR 670. The judgment was upheld by the High Court of Eastern Denmark and leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was refused. Admissible under Article 7.   © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court. Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes