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Public Law Solicitors

Permission to appeal granted in Rwanda litigation (14 March 2023)

Date: 14/03/2023
Duncan Lewis, Public Law Solicitors, Permission to appeal granted in Rwanda litigation

The Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal to 6 individual asylum seekers represented by Duncan Lewis. The appellants will advance a number of grounds of appeal, including that the Home Office failed to conduct a thorough examination into material deficiencies in Rwanda’s asylum system.

The first flight to Rwanda due to depart last June was grounded after the Duncan Lewis public law team were successful in their application to the European Court of Human Rights for an emergency interim measure.

Lord Justice Underhill, Vice-President of the Court of Appeal’s Civil Division, has granted permission for Duncan Lewis clients to advance 8 grounds of appeal at the hearing listed for the final week of April. The Court of Appeal will consider whether the Divisional Court erred in its judgment, including that the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s assessment that Rwanda to be a safe place to send asylum seekers, notwithstanding the compelling evidence to the contrary filed by the UNHCR, was lawful.

While the Divisional Court’s judgment of 19 December 2022 found the Government’s policy to be lawful overall, they quashed the decisions to remove 6 individuals, represented by Duncan Lewis, to Rwanda. The Court found that the Home Secretary must show in each case that an individual’s circumstances had been properly considered.

Public law solicitor, Sophie Lucas, welcomed the Court of appeal’s decision this morning.

She said: “We maintain that the Home Secretary failed to conduct a thorough examination of the functioning of Rwanda’s asylum system, as required by law. There are crucial evidential gaps and deficiencies.

“The Rwanda policy is not compatible with fundamental human rights afforded to asylum seekers under the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK was the first signatory, and the refugee convention.”

The Duncan Lewis immigration and public law department is expert in all aspects of human rights, asylum and deportation. The team has achieved significant success on behalf of its clients. It holds a distinguished position in leading bold public interest litigation and in challenging litigation and political conditions that frequently invoke common law, constitutional and human rights arguments.

The team has a broad practice representing clients in matters involving immigration; asylum and human rights and deportation matters, with a niche practice in immigration and civil liberties claimant judicial review matters.

Read the full judgment on Bailii here: AAA and others -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department




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