Home Office unlawfully imprisoned asylum seekers, Supreme Court rules (The Guardian) (27 November 2019)

The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that individuals detained under Articles 28 and 2(n) of the Dublin III Regulations solely for the purpose of removal was unlawful. This affects hundreds or potentially thousands of individuals detained between 1 January 2014 and 15 March 2017, who may be entitled to damages for their false imprisonment. Public law solicitor Krisha Pathepan, part of the team that successfully brought the challenge comments; “This is a brilliantly clear and forceful judgment which has huge implications for those detained for the purposes of removal under the so-called Dublin III regime between 1 January 2014 and 15 March 2017. The right to liberty is a fundamental human right. The impact of this judgment is profound – yet again the home secretary’s policies in relation to detention have been found to be unlawful. Her actions have caused untold misery for so many people – including many vulnerable victims of torture and trafficking, and people suffering from PTSD and other mental health conditions who never should have been detained in the first place.”