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SAADI v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
83. The applicant underlined that unsolicited reasons were not given at
any stage, and that solicited reasons were given orally in the afternoon of
5 January 2001, some 76 hours after the arrest and detention. Mere
reference to policy announcements could not displace the requirement to
provide sufficiently prompt, adequate reasons to the applicant in relation to
his detention.
84. The Chamber found a violation of this provision, on the ground that
the reason for detention was not given sufficiently “promptly”. It found that
general statements – such as the parliamentary announcements in the
present case – could not replace the need under Article 5 § 2 for the
individual to be informed of the reasons for his arrest or detention. The first
time the applicant was told of the real reason for his detention was through
his representative on 5 January 2001 (see paragraph 14 above), when the
applicant had already been in detention for 76 hours. Assuming that the
giving of oral reasons to a representative met the requirements of Article 5
§ 2 of the Convention, the Chamber found that a delay of 76 hours in
providing reasons for detention was not compatible with the requirement of
the provision that such reasons should be given “promptly”.
85. The Grand Chamber agrees with the Chamber's reasoning and
conclusion. It follows that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 2 of the
Convention.
III. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
86. Article 41 of the Convention provides:
“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols
thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only
partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to
the injured party.”
A. Damage
87. The Court notes that before the Chamber the applicant claimed
EUR 5,000 compensation for non-pecuniary damage in respect of the seven
days he spent in detention in Oakington. The Chamber, which, like the
Grand Chamber, found a violation of Article 5 § 2 of the Convention but not
of Article 5 § 1, held that the finding of the violation provided sufficient just
satisfaction.
88. The applicant did not contest this award, neither in his request that
the case be referred to the Grand Chamber nor in his written observations
before the Grand Chamber.
89. In all the circumstances, the Grand Chamber decides to maintain the
Chamber's decision that the finding of a violation provided sufficient just