ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS : RETURN DIRECTIVE: HOME DETENTION ORDER IMPEDES PROCESS, SAYS ECJ.

An EU member state has the right to punish an irregular stay with a fine, which may, under certain conditions, be replaced by an expulsion order. By contrast, Directive 2008/115/EC on the common standards and procedures applicable in the member states for the removal from their territory of illegally staying third-country nationals (the return directive) does preclude a member state from punishing an irregular stay with a home detention order if it is not guaranteed that that order will come to an end as soon as the physical transportation of the individual concerned out of that member state...