MEDVEDYEV AND OTHERS v. FRANCE JUDGMENT
27
satisfied. It is therefore essential that the conditions for deprivation of
liberty under domestic and/or international law be clearly defined and that
the law itself be foreseeable in its application, so that it meets the standard
of “lawfulness” set by the Convention, a standard which requires that all
law be sufficiently precise to avoid all risk of arbitrariness and to allow the
citizen – if need be, with appropriate advice – to foresee, to a degree that is
reasonable in the circumstances of the case, the consequences which a given
action may entail (see, among other authorities, Amuur, cited above; Steel
and Others v. the United Kingdom, 23 September 1998, § 54, Reports
1998-VII; Baranowski v. Poland, no. 28358/95, §§ 50-52, ECHR 2000-III;
and Jėčius v. Lithuania, no. 34578/97, § 56, ECHR 2000-IX).
81. Lastly, the Grand Chamber shares the view of the Government and
the Chamber that it must be borne in mind that the measures taken by the
French authorities against the Winner and its crew were taken in the context
of France’s participation in the effort to combat international trafficking in
drugs. As it has pointed out on numerous occasions, in view of the ravages
drugs cause it can see in particular why the authorities of the Contracting
States are so firm towards those who contribute to the spread of this
scourge, and it is fully aware of the need to combat drug trafficking and,
accordingly, to secure fruitful cooperation between States in this area.
Nevertheless, the special nature of the maritime environment relied upon by
the Government in the instant case cannot justify an area outside the law
where ships’ crews are covered by no legal system capable of affording
them enjoyment of the rights and guarantees protected by the Convention
which the States have undertaken to secure to everyone within their
jurisdiction, any more than it can provide offenders with a “safe haven”.
(b) Application of the above principles
82. The Court notes first of all that it is not disputed that the purpose of
the deprivation of liberty to which the applicants were subjected on board
the Winner while it was being escorted to France was to bring them “before
the competent legal authority” within the meaning of Article 5 § 1 (c) of the
Convention. In this case, the Court notes that the parties disagree as to
whether the facts of the case had a “legal basis” under public international
law and domestic law.
83. The Court notes at the outset that in cases concerning drug
trafficking on the high seas public international law upholds the principle
that the flag State – in this case Cambodia – has jurisdiction. It also notes
that Cambodia is party neither to the Montego Bay Convention nor to the
Vienna Convention.
84. The Government subscribe to the Court of Cassation’s view that the
intervention of the French authorities found justification in Article 108 § 2
of the Montego Bay Convention. However, Article 108 § 2 specifically
authorises “a State which has reasonable grounds for believing that a ship