M.H.I. v the United Kingdom - 23135/06 [2010] ECHR 252 (2 February 2010)

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The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 2 February 2010 as a Chamber composed of:

Lech Garlicki, President,
Nicolas Bratza,
Ljiljana Mijović,
David Thór Björgvinsson,
Ján Šikuta,
Päivi Hirvelä,
Mihai Poalelungi, judges,
and Lawrence Early, Section Registrar,

Having regard to the decision to grant priority to the above application under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court,

Having regard to the decision to grant the applicant anonymity under Rule 47 § 3 of the Rules of Court,

Having regard to the schedule of costs submitted by the applicant and the respondent Government's agreement to pay such costs,

The applicant is a Sudanese national who was born in 1969 and lives in Edinburgh. He was represented before the Court by Drummond Miller LLP, a firm of solicitors practising in Edinburgh.

The applicant complained to the Court that his removal to Sudan would breach Articles 2 and 3. The application was communicated to the Government of the United Kingdom on 19 February 2009. On 20 August 2009, the Government notified the Registry that the applicant had been granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom, exceptionally and outside the immigration rules, on 10 July 2009. The Court was therefore invited to strike the application off its list of cases.

The applicant confirmed by letter dated 8 October 2009 that, in the light of his grant of indefinite leave to remain, he was content for his application to be struck out. He enquired, however, as to whether the Government might meet his legal costs and expenses. The applicant submitted a schedule of costs on 16 November 2009, which was forwarded to the Government for comment. On 18 December 2009, the Government informed the Registry that they were prepared to meet the applicant's costs, as detailed in the schedule, in full.

The Court observes that the applicant no longer intends to pursue his application, subsequent to the grant of indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom. The requirements of Article 37 (1) (a) being met, it is therefore appropriate that the application should be struck out of the Court's list of cases. Moreover, the Court considers that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention does not require that the Court continues its examination of the application, in terms of Article 37 § in fine.

The Court further observes that the Government have expressed their willingness to meet the applicant's legal costs in full. The Court thus awards him the sum claimed, namely EUR 2,321.09, pursuant to Rule 43 § 4 of the Rules of Court.

(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicant EUR 2,321.09 (two thousand, three hundred and twenty one euros and nine cents) plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of costs, to be converted into pounds sterling at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b) that if settlement has not been made upon the expiry of three months from the date of notification of the decision, simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> M.H.I. v the United Kingdom - 23135/06 [2010] ECHR 252 (2 February 2010) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2010/252.html Cite as: [2010] ECHR 252