ECtHR, 10 February 2022, Al Alo v. Slovakia, App. no. 32084/19

‘Acts have their being in the witness’: upholding the right to a fair trial in the context of migrant smuggling

Résumé

An application against Slovakia was lodged by a Syrian national charged and convicted on the criminal offence of migrant smuggling. Before the European Court of Human Rights, he claimed that his trial was unfair since his conviction was the result of examination of evidence at the pre-trial stage which occurred in his absence. The evidence in question was constituted by two witnesses’ statements that were not heard during the trial proceedings since, in the meantime, they had been expelled from Slovakia. However, the migrants’ statements constituted an important piece of evidence at trial. Further, the applicant claimed that he did not benefit from legal representation at the pre-trial stage. The Court unanimously concluded to a violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) and (d).