Principal facts
The applicant, Lawrence Gatt, is a Maltese national, born in 1947, and until his imprisonment on 28 July 2006, lived in Senglea (Malta).
Facing drug trafficking proceedings, Mr Gatt was granted bail in August 2001. The conditions of bail included a personal guarantee of 23,300 euros (EUR) and restrictions on his leaving his place of residence. Following a complaint that he had been seen in Valletta during his curfew hours, the Criminal Court revoked his bail, ordered him to be re-arrested and to pay the guarantee. As he was not able to pay, imprisonment-in-default proceedings were brought under Articles 585 and 586 of the Criminal Code and, in July 2006, the sum in guarantee was converted into detention at the rate of one day per EUR 11.50, namely two thousand days (or more than five years and six months) imprisonment.
Mr Gatt brought a constitutional complaint which was ultimately dismissed on appeal in February 2008. The Constitutional Court held that his detention had its basis in Article 5 § 1 (b) (namely, to secure the fulfilment of an obligation prescribed by law) of the European Convention on Human Rights and that he had accepted the conditions of his bail in full knowledge of the consequences.
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