The Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA), JUSTICE and Freedom from Torture have prepared a briefing on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill ahead of its Second Reading in the House of Commons. The Briefing has been supported by 91 different organisations.
In no uncertain terms, we have strongly and collectively urged the House to decline to give the Bill a Second Reading, and oppose it at each stage thereafter. This Bill is contrary to the rule of law.
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.
This piece of legislation builds on the Illegal Migration Act 2023, and you can read ILPA’s detailed briefings on that piece of legislation here.
- Document Date
- Friday December 8, 2023