The Minister of Justice must take care of minors and provide for living expenses

The Court of First Instance decided on Tuesday April 30th, that the Minister of Justice must take care of a single 16-year-old Venezuelan and provide for her living expenses.

A sixteen-year-old single Venezuelan who was found on a boat with more than thirty other Venezuelans in the territorial waters of Curacao was arrested and detained for detention. She lodged an objection against the decision on the basis of which her custody and removal were ordered and, in the context of that objection, appealed to Article 3 of the ECHR (the prohibition of refoulement).

Pursuant to Article 39 of the ECHR, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court of Justice) has determined by decision on interim measure of  April 23th  2019 that the applicant cannot be removed to Venezuela until the Court has the parties can submit to the Court by May 23rd  2019 at the latest, whether or not the suspension ordered by them is removed (the interim measure).

On April 23rd  2019, the applicant submitted a request for a provisional measure to the General Court for suspension of the detention and removal of orders ordered under the contested decision. This is an urgent administrative procedure that is comparable to civil summary proceedings.

Deciding on the application for interim relief, the Court of First Instance ruled that suspension is not currently on the table, so that the application for suspension of removal cannot be granted. The Court of First Instance did, however, suspend the detention of the minor because he considers that, given the applicant's minority and being subjected to detention in the criminal prison, her interest in suspending detention outweighs the interest of the minister of justice in the event of continuation. The Court of First Instance stipulates that the minister must look after the minor and provide for her living expenses.