Brno - The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday 17 December that foreigners facing deportation have a right to appeal to court.

So far, foreigners staying in the Czech Republic illegally were facing immediate deportation. A clause in the immigration law explicitly stated that deportees could not sue.

The Constitutional Court now has abolished this clause, saying that foreigners have the same right as Czechs to have their case heard by a court.

Justice for all

"Even these people must have a right not only to have their case reviewed by the Interior Ministry, but also to turn to an independent court. If only one in a hundred or one in a thousand succeeded at court, it will be worth it for the sake of justice," said Pavel Rychetský, head of the Constitutional Court.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Jana Malíková said the ministry will respect the ruling, but refrained from further comments.

The proposal to abolish the clause barring deportees from appealing to court was submitted by the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS), who argued that there was no objective and impartial way to verify whether a deportation is legitimate. As a result, said NSS, the decision process was not transparent, opening space for corruption.

The NSS added that a court review is desirable in many cases, as an illegal deportation may represent a huge infringement in the deportees' private and family life. This is especially the case with foreigners who are sent back to countries where they are facing cruel treatment or death.

Human rights advocates have welcomed the ruling, saying that foreigners should have had this right before.

"Had [this provision] existed before, we could have avoided a number of injustices and human tragedies," said Tomáš Kyselica, a lawyer with a civic association helping immigrants, as quoted by ČeskéNoviny.cz.

Illegal, but settled

Daniela Jasovská from Prague's Counselling Centre for Refugees (Poradna pro uprchlíky) says the ruling may benefit people who are staying in the Czech Republic illegally, but who already have a partner or children living here.

Kyselica says that most deported foreigners have overstayed their visa. Many of them arrive on a tourist visa, but stay in the country to work illegally.

Organizations working with immigrants say that the Czech Republic has for years been a target country for many foreigners, rather than a mere transit country on their way further west. Those who most frequently want to settle here include Vietnamese, Ukrainians and Mongols.