Olivieira v the Netherlands, ECHR (2002) and Landvreugd v the Netherlands, ECHR (2002)

The applicants, Hans Walter Olivieira and Franklin Edgar Landvreugd, are both Netherlands nationals. On 6 November 1992 and 2 December 1994 respectively the Burgomaster (Burgemeester) of Amsterdam imposed a prohibition order (verwijderingsbevel) on the applicants, banning them for 14 days from, respectively, a designated emergency area in the city centre and an area just outside the old city centre (the Ganzenhoef area), after they had been found either in possession of hard drugs or related equipment or openly using the drugs. Neither applicant lived or worked in the area concerned. Both were convicted and sentenced for failing to comply with their prohibition orders. 

In each case, the European Court of Human Rights held, by four votes to three, that there had been no violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights (liberty of movement)  and, unanimously, that no separate issue arose under Article 8 (right to respect for private life). 

Citation: Olivieira v the Netherlands (App no 33129/96) ECHR 4 June 2002 and Landvreugd v the Netherlands (App no 37331/97) ECHR 4 June 2002

(from the official press-release prepared by the Registry Office of the  European Court of Human Rights)