Migration surge overloads Tallinn administrative court, delaying other cases

Rising numbers of detention requests involving foreigners without a legal basis to stay in Estonia are overloading the Tallinn Administrative Court and delaying other cases, ERR reports.

The court received about 130 requests from the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) last year to detain foreigners who lacked a legal basis to stay. It received 401 such requests in the first nine months of this year. Since the increased migration pressure began in July, 308 requests have arrived, including more than 90 last week, court spokesperson Anneli Vilu said.

The number of other complaints has also grown. The court received 1,620 in the first nine months of this year, up 12 percent from 1,445 in the same period last year. Combined with the roughly fivefold increase in PPA requests, the added workload has sharply reduced the court’s capacity to handle ordinary cases, Vilu said. People bringing other claims are waiting longer for their cases to begin and be resolved.

Since this summer, two duty judges have handled urgent cases involving foreigners each week, compared with one previously. The court may need to increase that number, Vilu said. Last week’s volume of requests meant the duty judge could not work on other cases.

Anyone detained in Estonia for lacking a legal basis to stay must go before an administrative court. Police need court permission to hold someone for more than 48 hours. The detainee must be heard at a court hearing with an interpreter within that initial 48-hour period.

The PPA seeks longer detention to establish a person’s origin and the circumstances of their arrival in Estonia. If someone applies for international protection, the board must also assess whether they meet the conditions for protection, including whether their life or health is at risk in their home country.

When deciding whether to authorize detention, the court considers whether more information about the person is needed and whether they might flee while authorities investigate. If it finds a risk that the person could leave Estonia or hide from officials, the court may authorize placement in a detention centre for up to four months.

People held in a detention centre are provided with accommodation, meals that take religious preferences into account, washing facilities, entertainment, medical care and, when needed, psychological support. They can also contact relatives by phone.

Some detainees do not have identity documents and have said they reached Estonia with the help of people organizing irregular migration. Vilu said detainees had named countries of origin including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Guinea, Mali, Burundi, Nepal, Pakistan, Sudan and India.

Some detainees have said they are minors. The PPA investigates whether those claims are true, while the court bases its decisions on the information available at the time.