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 Lords. The full briefing can be downloaded below.
In no uncertain terms, we reiterate our opposition to this Bill in its entirety. The Government seeks to legislate contrary to both international law and the United Kingdom’s long-held constitutional tradition of 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 domestically disapplies treaties which the UK remains bound internationally, showing bad faith, setting poor precedent, and damaging the UK’s credibility as an international partner.
- It will result in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’), when commitment to the ECHR is a part of crucial international agreements, including the Good Friday Agreement and the UK – EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, 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 all our briefings on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill here.
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 January 26, 2024