CASE LAW Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania N-575-5928/2009 (28 May 2009) N.A. moved to Lithuania in 1992. Since that time, he lived in Vilnius with his partner, who is a Lithuanian citizen, and their three children. On 7 May 2009, N.A. was detained for 48 hours because he provided a USSR passport issued in Azerbaijan upon the request of the police officers to show identification documents. The migration directory of the Vilnius police asked the Vilnius municipal court No. 2 to allow for the detention of N.A. at the FRC until his legal status was resolved or until he was removed from Lithuania. The court allowed for N.A. to be detained at the FRC for three months on the grounds of unlawful stay. N.A. appealed the decision to the SACL. The appeal was based on, among other reasons, his long-term residence in Lithuania, his family links, and the fact he had a place of residence. The SACL overturned the decision of the municipal court. The judges agreed that N.A. lived in Lithuania unlawfully and that that is a grounds for detention. However, considering that N.A. did not pose a threat to national security or public order, that his identity could be determined, and that he lived with his family and was willing to cooperate with the authorities in resolving his legal status, the SACL declared that N.A.’s detention was unnecessary. A police officer or other law enforcement officer can detain a person for up to 48 hours.192 Detention longer than 48 hours is only allowed pursuant to a court order.193 The detained individual is entitled to Stateguaranteed legal aid.194 All persons detained for longer than 48 hours are detained at the FRC.195 Detention may be executed by police officers, the SBGS, or other law enforcement agents. Alternatives to detention are provided for in Lithuanian law.196 The law allows for detention of vulnerable persons and families with children only in extreme cases, and the best interests of the child and of vulnerable persons must be considered.197 In practice, vulnerable individuals are detained, sometimes because alternatives to detention cannot be implemented in practice.198 Upon a visit to the FRC,199 this report’s researcher found an asylum-seeking family with a small child and a pregnant mother detained. Although detention of persons with “unresolved” legal status used to be routine – purportedly for purposes of documenting them – it is now rare and only used in cases where the person’s identity cannot be established.200 Since 2008, there have been very few cases of detention of long-term habitual residents.201 Presently, persons most affected by detention are “unreturnable” migrants, especially if their identity cannot be established. Frequently, they spend at least six months in the FRC.202 The law allows for an extension of 52 192 Ibid, Article 114 (1). 193 Ibid, Article 114 (2). 194 Ibid, Article 116 (1). 195 Ibid, Article 114 (2). 196 Ibid, Article 115. 197 Ibid, Article 114 (4). 198 Lithuanian Red Cross, Detention of asylum seekers and alternatives to detention in Lithuania, 2011, p. 18. 199 On 21 August 2012. 200 Interview with a representative of the FRC, 17 August 2012; interview with representatives of the Lithuanian Red Cross Society, 7 August 2012. 201 Interview with a representative of the FRC, 17 August 2012. 202 Interview with a representative of the FRC, 17 August 2012; interview with representatives of the Lithuanian Red Cross Society, 7 August 2012. M A P P I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S I N L I T H UA N I A