A guarded centre for foreigners (strzeżony ośrodek dla cudzoziemców) is a facility run by the Border Guard (Straż Graniczna), in which a foreigner is held in isolation for the duration of return proceedings or proceedings for international protection. The decision to place someone there is made by the district court (sąd rejonowy) upon a motion by the Border Guard. For the family, this is usually the most dramatic moment of the entire case — and, at the same time, the one where a fast legal reaction has the most measurable effect.
When the court may order detention
- there is a risk that the foreigner will abscond or evade execution of the return decision,
- the foreigner has no documents allowing their identity to be established,
- they crossed the border in breach of the regulations and were detained immediately afterwards,
- grounds relating to state defence, state security or public order require it,
- it is necessary to secure the smooth conduct of the return procedure.
The key point is that detention is meant to be a measure of last resort. Before ordering it, the court should consider alternative measures. If it failed to do so, or only did so as a formality, that is the strongest objection to raise in an interlocutory complaint.
Alternatives to detention
- an obligation to report to the Border Guard at set intervals,
- an obligation to reside at an indicated address,
- payment of a financial deposit of a specified amount,
- surrendering the travel document to the authority for safekeeping.
For the court to apply these measures, concrete facts must be presented: an address and legal title to the premises, a person confirming residence there, the source of the funds for the deposit, children's documents, medical certificates. A motion based purely on declarations is almost never sufficient.
Interlocutory complaint against the order placing a person in a centre
The interlocutory complaint is lodged with the regional court (sąd okręgowy) through the court that issued the order. The deadline is counted in days and runs from the announcement or delivery of the order. In the complaint we mainly raise:
- the absence of a real flight risk — a fixed address, employment, family, past appearances before the authority,
- failure to consider alternative measures, or only a token assessment of them,
- disproportionality of detention in relation to the aim of the proceedings,
- the best interests of minor children and the family situation,
- physical and mental health, including grounds excluding a stay in the centre,
- grounds relating to being a victim of violence or torture.
Request for release during the stay
Even if the interlocutory complaint is not accepted, the case is not over. During the stay in the centre a request for release can be filed when circumstances change — health has deteriorated, new documentation has emerged, the family situation has changed, or the return proceedings are dragging on through no fault of the foreigner. Every motion by the Border Guard to extend detention is also an opportunity to present counter-arguments to the court.
How we run detention cases
We treat detention cases as a priority, because the deadlines here are counted in days. We locate the client, obtain the power of attorney, review the court file, file the interlocutory complaint and a motion for alternative measures. At the same time we run the return decision case — because that is what ultimately decides the person's future in Poland.