CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 11 mars 2004

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .s5FFF0A77 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:1pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s61E420C2 { font-family:Arial; font-variant:small-caps } .s69BE285C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt } .s9A223E1B { width:11.03pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s3CED24E9 { width:27.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s9F8EB0C0 { width:18.63pt; display:inline-block } .s9E97F54A { width:85.05pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic }   EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   116 11.3.2004   Press release issued by the Registrar   HEARING ACHOUR v. FRANCE   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Chamber hearing today, Thursday 11 March 2004 at 9 a.m., on the admissibility and the merits in the case of: Achour v. France (application no. 67335/01).   The applicant   The case concerns an application brought by an Algerian national, Couider Achour, who was born in Bordeaux in 1953 and lives in Feyzin (France).   Summary of the facts   The applicant was born French, but did not keep French nationality following Algeria’s independence in 1962 because his father had not undertaken the necessary formalities.   He made two unsuccessful attempts to reacquire French nationality. In 1987 he applied to the domestic courts for a declaration of French nationality, arguing that since he had satisfied his national-service obligations (rather than avoid them on the ground that he was a foreign national) he had definitively acquired French nationality. His application was dismissed.   On 16 October 1984 the applicant was found guilty of drug trafficking involving ten kilograms of hashish and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. On 14 April 1997, after two bags containing about 57 kilograms of cannabis had been found in his garage, Lyons Criminal Court sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment and barred him from entering France for ten years. On appeal, Lyons Court of Appeal considered that he was legally a reoffender and increased the prison sentence to 12 years and upheld the exclusion order. The applicant unsuccessfully appealed to the Court of Cassation.   Complaints   The applicant complains that the exclusion order amounts to a violation of his right to respect for his private and family life guaranteed by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.   Relying on Article 7 (no punishment without law) of the Convention, he also complains about the finding that he was legally a reoffender. He argues that, by taking account of a new statute by which he could be legally classified as a reoffender, the French courts had retrospectively applied harsher criminal legislation.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 26 April 2000.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Christos Rozakis (Greek), President , Peer Lorenzen (Danish), Jean-Paul Costa (French), Françoise Tulkens (Belgian), Nina Vajić (Croatian), Egil Levits (Latvian), Snejana Botoucharova (Bulgarian), judges , Giovanni Bonello (Maltese) , Anatoli Kovler (Russian) , Elisabeth Steiner (Austrian) , Khanlar Hajivev (Azerbaijani) substitute judges , and also Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Antoine Buchet , Agent , Gilles Dutertre, Frédéric Amegadjie, Jean-Philippe Petit, Mathieu Bourrette, Frédérique Doublet, Counsel ;   Applicant :   Françoise Thouin-Palat , Counsel .     After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. A decision on admissibility, followed if appropriate by a judgment, will be delivered at a later date.   ***   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Press contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)   Stéphanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1 November 1998 it has sat as a full-time Court composed of an equal number of judges to that of the States party to the Convention. The Court examines the admissibility and merits of applications submitted to it. It sits in Chambers of 7 judges or, in exceptional cases, as a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of the Court’s judgments. More detailed information about the Court and its activities can be found on its Internet site.