Administrative Detention

The lawyers in the Network regularly handle administrative detention procedures.

The detention center is a place where foreigners in an irregular situation are held, in order to allow the administration to return them to their country of origin or to another country where they are admissible.

The detention of a foreign national can occur in several situations:

• Following a simple identity check,

• During a traffic stop,

• During a workplace inspection,

• During an appointment at the prefecture,

• Following another offense for which the public prosecutor decided not to pursue criminal charges, but which revealed the irregularity of the stay,

• Or during a home arrest to enforce the deportation measure.

When someone is placed in detention, it is crucial to act quickly and contact a lawyer immediately, as legal remedies are subject to extremely short deadlines.

Indeed, the administrative detention procedure consists of two very different phases:

• The administrative phase: the foreign national has 48 hours to contest the removal order before the administrative court. The administrative judge will then assess the legality of both the removal order and the detention.

• The judicial phase: within 48 hours of the detention, the prefect must refer the case to the Judge for Liberties and Detention to request an extension of the administrative detention for a period of 20 days. The foreign national will be summoned before the judge, who will decide on the extension of the detention. This judge is not competent to assess the legality of the detention or the removal order, but only the regularity of the procedure.

The maximum duration of administrative detention is 45 days.

These two procedures are very different and require the assistance of a lawyer specialized in administrative detention.

The lawyers who are members of the TERRAVOCATS Network intervene from the moment of police custody or detention, before the administrative court as well as before the Judge for Liberties and Detention, throughout France, 7 days a week.