International Children Law Update: January 2023 – Family Law Week

Posted February 13th, 2023 in asylum, children, families, family courts, immigration, news by sally

‘Jacqueline Renton and Mani Singh Basi, both barristers of 4 Paper Buildings, review the latest key decisions in international children law.’

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Family Law Week, 3rd February 2023

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Shelter to challenge Home Office plan to uproot Afghan refugees – The Guardian

‘Home Office plans to uproot Afghan refugees from a London hotel and move them hundreds of miles from their children’s schools could result in a court battle, a lawyer has warned.’

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The Guardian, 7th February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Relocation applications – tip and tricks for cases involving Australia – Family Law

Posted February 6th, 2023 in children, families, family courts, immigration, news by sally

‘Leave to remove cases (also known as relocation applications) can be some of the most challenging cases that come before the family court. Whilst any family matter can and often does elicit highly charged emotions and a degree of uncertainty, within relocation cases, the court is required to consider an application focusing on a child’s best interests and ultimately produce a binary answer: should a child relocate or not?’

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Family Law, 3rd February 2023

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Care worker whistleblower outed by Home Office over exploitation claims – The Guardian

‘A victim of suspected labour abuse who confidentially disclosed details of exploitation to government investigators says she has been subjected to threats and intimidation after she was outed to her employer.’

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The Guardian, 5th February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

New reforms to tackle ‘abuse’ of modern slavery laws by criminals – The Independent

‘Tough new rules will make it harder for migrants convicted of serious offences to claim to be victims of modern slavery, under plans announced by the Home Secretary.’

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The Independent, 30th January 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Windrush report: Suella Braverman scraps three recommendations – BBC News

‘The head of the Windrush inquiry has expressed disappointment after the home secretary confirmed the government was dropping three key commitments made in the wake of the scandal.’

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BBC News, 26th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Does a child born to an EU national exercising free movement rights automatically acquire British citizenship? – EIN Blog

Posted January 25th, 2023 in brexit, children, citizenship, EC law, families, freedom of movement, immigration, news by sally

‘On 20 January 2023, Eyre J (“the judge”) handed down judgment in R (Roehrig) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 31 (Admin). The judge dismissed the claim. The challenge raised questions of statutory interpretation of the British Nationality Act 1981 (“the BNA 1981”) and the interrelationship between that statutory scheme and the status of EU nationals exercising free movement rights before Brexit. The judgment is likely to have significant consequences for a cohort of individuals claiming British citizenship on the basis of being born in the UK to EU nationals exercising free movement rights.’

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EIN Blog, 24th January 2023

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Revealed: scores of child asylum seekers kidnapped from Home Office hotel – The Guardian

‘Dozens of asylum-seeking children have been kidnapped by gangs from a Brighton hotel run by the Home Office in a pattern apparently being repeated across the south coast, an Observer investigation can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office accused of failing vulnerable groups in detention centres – watchdog – The Independent

Posted January 13th, 2023 in asylum, detention, government departments, immigration, news, refugees, torture, victims by sally

‘A watchdog says a belief among some Home Office staff that migrants are trying to abuse the system is causing “shortcomings” in the care of vulnerable groups in immigration removal centres. The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s (ICIBI) report focuses on the Home Office’s Rule 35 process, calling it “ineffective”.’

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The Independent, 12th January 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Afghan refugees made to move school take UK to court – BBC News

‘A group of Afghan families brought to London after the Taliban took power are taking the government to court because a subsequent move north meant their children had to leave a local school during their GCSE studies.’

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BBC News, 22nd January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Anti-strikes bill to be introduced to Parliament – BBC News

‘The government will introduce a bill to Parliament on Tuesday which would ensure public sector services maintain minimum service levels during strike action.’

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BBC News, 10th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Challenging the Right to Strike: the UK Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘The Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, currently passing through the UK Parliament, seeks to establish minimum service levels for transport provision following widespread industrial action on the country’s railways. The UK government describes the Bill as necessary ‘to keep Britain moving during transport strikes’. While the legislation’s effectiveness has been questioned elsewhere, the Bill also raises several issues in relation to international human rights law, some of which will be the focus of this blog post.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 9th January 2023

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Court of Appeal: UT should normally re-make decision instead of remitting case to FTT – EIN Blog

Posted January 9th, 2023 in appeals, criminal justice, deportation, immigration, news, trials, tribunals by sally

‘AEB v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 1512 (18 November 2022). In this deportation case, Underhill, Nicola Davies and Stuart-Smith LJJ held that where, on an appeal from the First-tier Tribunal (FTT), the Upper Tribunal (UT) found that where the FTT’s decision involved an error of law, it would normally re-make the decision instead of remitting it to the FTT, unless it was satisfied that the error had deprived a party of a fair hearing before the FTT. Where the UT was so satisfied, it would normally remit the decision to the FTT. If the UT chose instead to re-make the decision itself, it would have to give cogent reasons for doing so. “AEB” appealed against a decision of the UT upholding a deportation order made by the respondent SSHD. The appellant was a Nigerian national who had been in the UK for 30 years and who was separated from his partner but helped to care for their three children, all of whom had significant disabilities and special needs. In 2017, he was convicted of dishonesty and sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment. As a result, the SSHD served a deportation decision under the automatic deportation provision set out in section 32 of the UK Borders Act 2007. AEB appealed to the FTT relying on article 8 of the ECHR, which brought into play the provisions of Part 5A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. But the FTT dismissed his appeal and UT set aside that dismissal on the basis that the FTT had made errors of law which had deprived AEB of a fair hearing.’

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EIN Blog, 9th January 2023

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Anti-strike law could be brought forward as government tries to end disputes – The Guardian

‘Anti-strike legislation is expected to be brought forward later this week, as Rishi Sunak’s government scrambles to get a grip of the ongoing industrial disputes.’

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The Guardian, 4th January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

What Is In Store For Human Rights In 2023? – Each Other

Posted January 4th, 2023 in bills, brexit, deportation, human rights, immigration, news by sally

‘2022 may be remembered as one of the more turbulent years for human rights in the UK. Now, we look ahead at what might be in store for our rights in 2023.’

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Each Other, 4th January 2023

Source: eachother.org.uk

Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain (DVILR) of the Immigration Rules breaches Article 14 of the ECHR – EIN Blog

Posted January 4th, 2023 in domestic violence, families, human rights, immigration, judicial review, news by sally

‘In these judicial review proceedings, Lieven J held that Appendix FM, specifically the Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain (DVILR) of the Immigration Rules, and the differential treatment between victims of spousal abandonment inside and outside the UK is not justified and therefore breaches of Article 14 of the ECHR and the Human Rights Act 1998. The fact that the rules protected victims of spousal abandonment if they were present in the UK when they were abandoned, but not if they were outside the UK having been tricked or coerced by their abusive spouse, severely impacted the article 8 rights of the latter victims and could not be justified by the SSHD. AM, the claimant was a national of Pakistan born in 1991. In 2017 she married IM, a British citizen, and she arrived in the UK in December 2017 on a spouse visa valid until August 2020. In December 2018 she gave birth to a daughter. She was subjected to very severe financial, physical, emotional and sexual domestic abuse and, sitting in the Family Division of the High Court, Theis J made findings of very serious domestic abuse against the father. The violence inflicted by IM on AM had resulted in severe and long-lasting physical harm including the removal of one of her ovaries and also a diagnosis of achalasia type 2, which resulted in a weight loss of over 30 kilos.’

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EIN Blog, 3rd January 2023

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Divisional Court upholds Government’s Rwanda policy – an extended look – UK Human Rights Blog

‘On 14th April of this year, the then-Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced a new ‘Migration and Economic Development Partnership’ between the UK Government and the Government of Rwanda to enable the removal of certain persons to who enter the UK to claim asylum (particularly those who arrive in small boats crossing the English Channel) to Rwanda, where – if their claims succeeded – they would be resettled.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 20th December 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Rwanda Policy Ruled Lawful But ‘Awful’ – Each Other

‘The High Court has ruled that the government’s ‘awful‘ Rwanda policy is lawful. This follows an intervention from the European Court of Human Rights, which in a last-minute ruling stopped any flights under the scheme until the UK’s domestic courts could determine if it was legal. While the policy was ruled legal, eight individual cases will be determined separately and another hearing could be launched in 2023 if an appeal is made.’

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Each Other, 20th December 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

High court rules Rwanda plan is lawful – Free Movement

Posted December 20th, 2022 in asylum, deportation, government departments, immigration, judicial review, news, Rwanda by sally

‘The High Court has concluded in the case of AAA and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3230 (Admin) that the UK government’s Rwanda plan is lawful. The individual decisions in the case were inadequate and will need to be re-made, but that is no obstacle to the plan proceeding.’

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Free Movement, 19th December 2022

Source: freemovement.org.uk

Accommodating asylum seekers: legal issues arising from the use of hotel accommodation – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Home Office’s policy of placing asylum seekers in hotels and hostels has given rise to a number of legal issues for local authorities. Dean Underwood and Jack Barber detail the areas of concern.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th December 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk