Facts
Hasan Kaynak, a Turkish national born on February 5, 1963, arrived in Switzerland on December 15, 1987 to file an asylum application, which is still pending before the Swiss Asylum Appeals Commission. In 1993 and 1996, the Basel authorities requested the Federal Office for Foreigners to grant Mr. Kaynak an exception to the limitation measures for foreigners provided for in Art. 13 let. f of the Ordinance Limiting the Number of Foreigners (OLE), but these requests were rejected.
In ruling on Mr. Kaynak's appeal, the Federal Department of Justice and Police confirmed the refusal to grant this exception, although Mr. Kaynak had resided in Switzerland for more than 9 and a half years, was well integrated professionally and socially, and had not been the subject of any complaints. The Department considered that these elements were not sufficient to constitute a "personal case of extreme hardship" within the meaning of Art. 13 let. f OLE.
Considerations
However, the Federal Court considers that when a foreigner has resided in Switzerland for at least 10 years, deportation to his country of origin normally involves excessive severity constituting a…