Lawyers believe they will be able to mount legal challenges to individual migrants’ deportation under the Safety of Rwanda Act even though the legislation was designed to restrict appeals.
Migrants can bring legal claims if they can provide “compelling evidence relating specifically to the person’s particular circumstances” that Rwanda is not a safe country for them individually.
Legal challenges will be based on articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protect the right to life and guard against torture.
How migrants could challenge removals
Campaigners suggested migrants would be able to challenge the removals on the basis of potential harm to their mental and physical health and that those with a history of protest will also have a strong case.
This will be based on the Rwandan authority’s previous management of protests staged by refugees, as evidence of the potential harm that their clients would face in the country.
The Rwanda Act also allows for migrants to seek injunctions, known as interim relief, which would suspend the implementation of the policy until there had been a full legal hearing.
Claimants will have to prove that they face “a real, imminent and foreseeable risk of serious and irreversible harm” if sent to Rwanda before a full legal hearing could take place.
Of the 5,700 migrants identified for removal to Rwanda, only 2,145 of them continue to report to the Home Office and can be located for detention, according to a document released on Monday.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
