Decision today in "humanitarian visas" case

European Court of Human Rights decision given today in M.N. and others v. Belgium, Application no. 3599/18. The "humanitarian visas" case raised fundamental issues of the jurisdiction of the European Court over individuals who were neither in the territory nor citizens of a Contracting State, and whether an obligation to issue visas for humanitarian reasons existed under the Convention. Geoffrey Cox QC appeared as HM Attorney General to represent the Government of the United Kingdom.