Human Rights

In a decision given on 31 January 2007, the UK Court of Appeal gave the appellant permission to appeal against a refusal to grant her indefinite leave to remain in the UK as the dependent relative of a person present and settled in the UK.

On 22 January 2007 the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, announced that the UK would sign the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

The Convention imposes a range of obligations upon States, including obligations to identify victims of trafficking, to protect them and to provide support to assist in their physical, psychological and social recovery, including through provision of reflection periods during which they will not face immediate removal, and of residence permits where it would not be appropriate to compel them to return to their countries of origin.

The UK parliament is examining new proposals for legislation on immigration and asylum: the UK Borders Bill.

A Committee in the House of Commons in the UK parliament starts to examine the proposed legislation on 27 February. The Committee has announced that it will hear evidence from the Home Office, from the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, the Immigration Advisory Service, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Transport and General Workers’ Union and from National Car Parks.

The Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006 came into force on 9 October 2006.

The Regulations implement into UK law the European Union Council 'Directive on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection'.

As reported on these pages ('More Sections of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 Come Into Force', 21/8/06), more sections of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 came into force yesterday.

A Canadian's assertion that his rights enshrined under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights would be breached if extradited to Canada due to his medical condition has been rejected by the High Court Boulter v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] All ER (D) 112 (Aug).

The Home Office has accepted that it acted against the orders of a High Court judge in removing a Turkish family to Germany.

The family's legal representatives had successfully applied to the High Court for an injunction prohibiting the Home Office from removing the family from the UK. The director of the Immigration & Nationality Directorate's enforcement and removal service, David Roberts, appeared in person in court to apologise for the actions of his department and blamed the removal of the family on 'regrettable failings'.

The Court of Appeal has found that an immigration judge was entitled to conclude that a sick father should not be separated from his family in the UK as his case is truly exceptional, and that a challenge to findings of what is truly exceptional would have to be on the basis of perversity - Ahmed Saeed Ahmed Mukarkar -and- The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 1045

The European Court of Human Rights has found that the UK immigration authorities did not breach an asylum seeker's human rights as guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights 1950 by detaining him. However the court found that the applicant's human rights were breached as he was not told the reasons for his detention for 76 hours (Saadi v United Kingdom, 11/7/06).

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that a provision allowing EU Member States to verify if certain child family members meet a condition for integration before allowing entry and residence is not contrary to EU or human rights law (case C-540 European Parliament v Council (2006) ECJ (Grand Chamber) 27/6/2006).