The applicant, a Moroccan citizen born in 1955, is currently resident in Morocco. In 1966 he came to live in Belgium with his parents, his brother and his three sisters, who were all Moroccan nationals. Between 1988 and 1991 the sisters adopted Belgian nationality. Two of them later left Belgium for Luxembourg. The applicant's father died in Morocco in 1989. Mr C. lived in Brussels with his family in a house which they owned. After leaving school he trained as a mechanic. From 1984 onwards he worked for the family business as a taxi driver.
On 17 October 1985, in Morocco, he married a Moroccan woman who came to live with him in Belgium. Mrs C. gave birth to a son on 10 August 1986. On an unknown date Mr C. divorced his wife in Morocco. She then went back to live there. On 10 July 1991 the Kenitra Court of First Instance (Morocco) took formal note of the fact that Mrs C. had waived her right to custody of the child, who returned to Belgium after his father's release (see paragraph 13 below) and lived with his paternal grandmother. Since May 1992 he has apparently been living with one of his aunts in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
On 6 April 1988 the Brussels Criminal Court convicted the applicant of criminal damage and sentenced him to two months' imprisonment, suspended for three years, and a fine of sixty times 400 Belgian francs (BEF). Following the seizure of 17.2 kilograms of cannabis, the same court sentenced Mr C. on 14 December 1988 to seven years' imprisonment and a fine of sixty times BEF 1,000 for unlawful possession of drugs and conspiracy. On 30 June 1989 the Brussels Court of Appeal reduced the term of imprisonment to five years. After his release on parole on 23 May 1991 (see paragraph 13 above) Mr C. had thirty days in which to leave Belgium; this time-limit was later extended to 25 September 1991. He complied with the order on an unknown date.
On 21 May 1991 the applicant asked the Conseil d'Etat to quash the deportation order.
In his application Mr C. complained of an infringement of his right to respect for his private and family life (Article 8 of the Convention (art. 8), taken separately and in conjunction with Article 14 (art. 14+8)).
Citation: C. v Belgium (App no 21794/93) ECHR 7 August 1996
(from the official press-release prepared by the Registry Office of the European Court of Human Rights)