[nomadking]

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On that subject, the Court noted that, in general, exclusion orders were not characterised as criminal within the member States of the Council of Europe. Such orders, which in most States could also be made by the administrative authorities, constituted a special preventive measure for the purposes of immigration control and did not concern the determination of a criminal charge for the purposes of Article 6 § 1. The fact that they were imposed in the context of criminal proceedings could not alter their essentially preventive nature. It followed that proceedings for rescission of such measures could not be regarded as being in the criminal sphere either. The Court therefore concluded that decisions regarding the entry, stay and deportation of aliens did not concern the determination of civil rights or obligations or of a criminal charge, within the meaning of Article 6 § 1.
Conclusion: Article 6 inapplicable (fifteen votes to two).