BELFAST: A High Court judge in Belfast on Monday ruled that a UK law allowing asylum-seekers to be deported to Rwanda should be disapplied in Northern Ireland due to human rights concerns.
Judge Michael Humphreys sided with separate challenges to the legislation, brought forth by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) and a 16-year-old asylum seeker from Iran who arrived in the UK alone seeking refuge.
The NIHRC argued that the Illegal Migration Act contradicts both domestic and international agreements, including the Windsor Framework, which ensures the preservation of rights guaranteed by Northern Ireland’s 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Judge Humphreys concurred, finding that certain provisions of the Illegal Migration Act compromised the rights of asylum-seekers in Northern Ireland under the terms of the peace agreement.
Moreover, the legal challenge alleged violations of rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to which the UK is a signatory. As a result, Judge Humphreys ruled that the contested sections of the law must be “disapplied” within Northern Ireland.
Human rights lawyer Sinead Marmion, representing the teenager, hailed the ruling as a victory for asylum-seekers in Northern Ireland, emphasizing that it provides legal protection to those seeking refuge.
The decision presents a significant hurdle to the implementation of the UK government’s deportation scheme to Rwanda in Northern Ireland, as it has been deemed incompatible with the Windsor Framework.
This ruling follows a series of legal challenges against the UK government’s efforts to curb irregular migration, particularly from individuals crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Northern Ireland’s separate legal system, akin to Scotland’s, allows for independent judgments on matters of law and human rights.
Meanwhile, tensions have escalated between Ireland and the UK over the return of asylum-seekers, with Dublin announcing plans to deport migrants arriving in Ireland back to the UK, citing concerns over asylum-seeker influx from Northern Ireland.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s offer for Ireland to participate in the Rwanda deportation scheme was met with skepticism by Irish premier Simon Harris, who dismissed it as “more satire than news.”
