5.  The applicant was born in 1972 and lives in Kaunas. 6.  In 1999 the applicant was granted a licence to keep a firearm. 7.  On 17 July 2002 the validity of the licence was extended. 8.  On 15 November 2002 the applicant submitted a request for a licence to keep another type of firearm. 9.  On 19 December 2002 police officials decided not to grant a new licence, given that on 13 December 2002 the applicant had been listed in an “operational records file” (policijos operatyvinė įskaita), that is, a database containing information gathered by law-enforcement authorities (see paragraphs 17-19 of the 'Relevant domestic law' below). 10.  On 16 April 2003 the police wrote to the applicant informing him that his licence to keep a pistol and a hunting rifle had been revoked. The applicant was informed that, pursuant to Article 38 of the Law on the Control of Guns and Ammunition, he was to hand in these firearms to the authorities and would receive money for them. 11.  The applicant instituted court proceedings challenging the entry of his name in the operational records file. 12.  On 25 September 2003 the Kaunas Regional Administrative Court dismissed his action. The decision was based on classified material submitted by the police and analysed by the judges without it being disclosed to the applicant. The court concluded that the applicant's listing in the operational records file had been lawful and reasoned, in view of the information about the applicant held by the police. 13.  The applicant appealed, complaining that he had had no access to the operational records file. He alleged that the court had not examined the classified evidence during the hearing, and that it had not assessed whether any parts of that information could have been disclosed to him. 14.  On 29 October 2003 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld that decision. The court noted, inter alia, that the impugned evidence was classified as a State secret and, although reviewed by the court, could not be disclosed to the applicant. 15.  The Government submitted that in July 2004, after the applicant had been granted a new firearms licence, his guns were returned to him.