20 L.M. AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT Federation. The possibility of legislative amendments would be considered in December 2015. THE LAW I. JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS 83. In accordance with Rule 42 § 1 of the Rules of Court, the Court decides to join the applications, given their similar factual and legal background. II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 2, 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION ON ACCOUNT OF THE APPLICANTS’ ORDERED EXPULSION TO SYRIA 84. The applicants complained that their expulsion to Syria, if carried out, would be in breach of their right to life and the prohibition on torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, as provided in Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. They also stressed that they had no effective domestic remedies in respect of these violations, in breach of Article 13. The provisions read as follows, in so far as relevant: Article 2 “1. Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. ...” Article 3 “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Article 13 “Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in [the] Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.” A. Arguments of the parties 1. The Government 85. The Government claimed that the applicants had failed to exhaust domestic remedies. At the time of lodging their complaints, their applications for asylum and/or temporary asylum had not yet been considered in the final instance. Furthermore, they had not lodged their requests until after their arrest for breaching immigration rules.