JUSTICE, alongside the Immigration Lawyers Practitioners Association (‘ILPA’) and Freedom from Torture, briefed Parliamentarians on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill ahead of its Second Reading in the House of Commons.
This follows the UK Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in November 2023, which found the existing Rwanda policy unlawful for several reasons, including breaches of domestic and international law.
JUSTICE is opposed to this legislation on the following basis:
- It legislates a legal fiction, reversing the Supreme Court’s factual assessment of the risk of harm in Rwanda, without properly addressing the Court’s concerns about the Rwandan asylum system and ousting our domestic courts’ jurisdiction to consider the issue; it is an abuse of Parliament’s role.
- It disapplies, domestically, treaties that the UK remains bound by internationally, showing bad faith, setting poor precedent and making the UK an unreliable partner internationally.
- It breaches the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’), when commitment to that is a part of the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland settlement, as well as the UK’s treaty arrangements with the EU.
- It is an attack on judicial scrutiny, undermining our constitutional separation of powers.
- It threatens the UK’s role as a global leader in championing the rule of law, democracy and human rights.
You can read JUSTICE’s detailed previous briefings on the European Convention on Human Rights and the Illegal Migration Act on our website.
House of Commons Second Reading
Joint Briefing with ILPA and Freedom from Torture (December 2023)