Madeline Gleeson & Theodore Konstadinides: The UK’s Rwanda policy and Lessons from Australia- UK Constitutional Law Association

‘In November 2023, the Supreme Court of the UK dealt a critical blow to the government’s proposal to send certain asylum seekers to the Republic of Rwanda. In AAA and Others v the Home Secretary, the Court ruled that removal to Rwanda would be unlawful because that country was not, at the time, a ‘safe country’.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th March 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Civil servants threaten ministers with legal action over Rwanda bill – The Guardian

‘Civil servants have threatened ministers with legal action over concerns that senior Home Office staff could be in breach of international law if they implement the government’s Rwanda deportation bill.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 12th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rwanda bill: House of Lords inflicts further defeats on government plan – BBC News

Posted March 7th, 2024 in asylum, bills, deportation, immigration, news, parliament, Rwanda by sally

‘The government has suffered five further defeats in the House of Lords over its Rwanda bill.’

Full Story

BBC News, 6th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

When Treaties are Forbidden – EIN Blog

‘Safe Third Country (STC) agreements involve the transfer of protection-seekers from one State to another. They take different forms, including bilateral treaties (the UK-Rwanda Treaty), political agreements (the Italy-Albania MoU) and regional mechanisms (Dublin III). They are usually justified as a means of sharing responsibility for protecting refugees and ‘managing’ access to asylum determination processes, as is the case for the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement. In other contexts their explicit purpose is to deter and to punish.

Full Story

EIN Blog, 29th February 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Sunak’s asylum laws trapping 55,000 people in ‘perma-backlog’, says UK thinktank – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2024 in asylum, delay, deportation, government departments, immigration, news, Rwanda by sally

‘Rishi Sunak’s asylum laws have introduced a “perma-backlog” of up to 55,000 people who cannot have their claims processed and risk being left indefinitely in taxpayer-funded temporary accommodation, according to a new report.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 28th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Scandalous’ if UK watchdog role left empty when Rwanda plan starts, says inspector – The Guardian

‘The UK’s chief inspector of borders and immigration has called it “scandalous” that his watchdog role could be left vacant while the Rwanda scheme is introduced.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 19th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Woman told to leave UK despite court ruling she has right to live with family – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2024 in deportation, families, government departments, immigration, news, visas by sally

‘A woman is facing deportation, and being separated from her husband and 10-year-old son, despite a court ruling that the family have the right to live together in the UK.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 15th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK’s Rwanda bill ‘incompatible with human rights obligations’ – The Guardian

‘The UK government’s controversial Rwanda legislation that deems the African country as a safe place to deport people to is fundamentally incompatible with Britain’s human rights obligations and places it in breach of international law, according to a damning parliamentary report.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 12th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

English test scandal: students renew fight to clear names after 10 years – The Guardian

‘International students accused of cheating at English-language tests are planning a fresh push to clear their names 10 years on, with thousands thought to have been victims of a gross miscarriage of justice.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Italian man removed from UK despite post-Brexit Home Office certificate – The Guardian

Posted February 9th, 2024 in brexit, coronavirus, deportation, government departments, immigration, news by michael

‘An Italian man has been removed from the UK despite holding a Home Office certificate explicitly stating he has a right to travel in and out of the country while officials process his application to live and work in the country post-Brexit.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 8th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Even many critics of the Rwanda deportation policy are missing the point of why it’s wrong – EIN Blog

‘The UK government’s proposals to send asylum seekers arriving to the UK onto Rwanda continue to spark intense opposition.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 6th February 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Popular Conservatives: Rees-Mogg attacks Lady Hale and calls for neutering of Supreme Court – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Baroness Hale revealed her “true colours” by voting against the Rwanda Bill, according to former leader of the Commons Jacob-Rees-Mogg, who yesterday called for the “politicised” Supreme Court to be emasculated.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 7th February 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Portuguese man who has lived legally in UK since 2001 faces deportation – The Guardian

Posted February 6th, 2024 in brexit, deportation, disabled persons, identity cards, immigration, news, time limits by tracey

‘The Home Office has threatened a Portuguese plumber who has lived legally in the UK for more than 20 years with deportation after he struggled with his application to remain in the country.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 4th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘I feel rejected’: Windrush Scandal victim granted judicial review after Home Office refused compensation – The Independent

‘A member of the Windrush generation who was wrongly denied entry to the UK and sent to Jamaica has been granted a judicial review of his case.’

Full Story

The Independent, 4th February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Top Cases of 2023: the good, the bad and the legally complicated – UK Human Rights Blog

‘As the dust settles on another year, it is (just about still) time to look back over the year gone to review some of the most dramatic, legally interesting or impactful cases of the year gone by. As ever, this is only a selection of the top cases of the year, but as a whole they reveal yet another year in which the courts have been drawn into the centre of the most important social and political debates of the society in which they find themselves.’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 29th January 2024

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Jeff King: The House of Lords, Constitutional Propriety, and the Safety of Rwanda Bill – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Lords on 29 January 2024, having cleared the House of Commons unamended. There are a great many problems with the Rwanda Bill, any of which might weigh with the Lords, but this blog post focuses on just one: the likelihood that, if enacted, the Bill may well trigger a constitutional crisis between the courts and Parliament. It would be a crisis that is likely to endure beyond the life of the policy embodied in the Bill. I argue here that one of the roles of the House of Lords is to act as a constitutional safeguard, a steam-valve, and, in exercise of this function under the rare circumstances that attend this Bill, it would be legitimate for the Lords to not only make and insist upon far-reaching changes to the Bill, but even to refuse to pass it altogether. This post is not concerned with the realpolitik of whether peers would in fact vote the Bill down – though I come to the point in the conclusion. It rather seeks to refute the constitutional argument that it would be illegitimate to block or make potent amendments to it.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 26th January 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

What is rule 39? UK government tells civil servants to ignore European court of human rights on Rwanda deportations – EIN Blog

‘The UK government is once again navigating legal and political hurdles over its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. The latest debate is over the emergency bill that legally declares Rwanda a safe place to send refugees (despite the supreme court ruling the opposite).’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 23rd January 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill is step towards totalitarianism, top lawyer in the Lords warns – The Independent

‘A leading lawyer who sits in the Lords has warned that Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill is “a step toward totalitarianism”.’

Full Story

The Independent, 18th January 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Legislating fiction – EIN Blog

‘Members of Parliament in the UK will on 16 and 17 January 2024 debate the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, which “gives effect to the judgement of Parliament that the Republic of Rwanda is a safe country” for asylum-seekers. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in November 2023 that Rwanda was manifestly not safe as asylum seekers sent to the country would face a real risk of ill-treatment due to insufficient guarantees against refoulement. The Bill thus aims to use law to determine a factual situation for as long as the law is in force. This blog discusses the risks inherent in creating such a “legal fiction” and how the Bill could be revised to mitigate this risk, before assessing the chances of it becoming law in the currently turbulent political context.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 16th January 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Sanjit Nagi: The Stranglehold of New Labour and Lord Irvine’s Rights-based Constitution – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘Last year’s Supreme Court decision in R (AAA) v Home Secretary – which found the British government’s Rwanda policy to be unlawful – has reignited broader debates about the position of a government which commands a majority in Parliament vis a vis the judiciary, the separation of powers, the extent to which legislating against judicial decisions is constitutionally proper or compatible with the rule of law, and the appropriateness of disapplying sections of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998). This post does not restate or reengage with such topics; substantive attention has already been given by Tom Hickman KC, Professor Mark Elliott, Adam Tucker, Professor Sarah Singer, and Richard Ekins KC et al. Neither does it take a position on the feasibility or desirability of any specific government policy, the continued operation of HRA 1998, or membership of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Instead, this post will argue that the backlash to and disapproval of the British government’s response to R (AAA) – the introduction of the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which, amongst other measures, allows Parliament to diverge from the Supreme Court’s judgment – neatly evidences the intended effect of New Labour and Lord Derry Irvine’s HRA 1998 system and judicial reforms.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 15th January 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org