AAA (Syria) & Ors., R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

14 March 2023

[2023] EWCA Civ 266

Court of Appeal

Several people sent to Rwanda under a new UK plan challenged the decision in court. The court decided whether or not to hear the appeals. Some parts of their challenges will go forward to a higher court; other parts were dismissed because the arguments were considered too weak.

Key Facts

•Judicial review of the Rwanda asylum scheme.
•Eight claims heard by the Divisional Court (Lewis LJ and Swift J).
•Challenges to inadmissibility, removal, and human rights decisions.
•Divisional Court quashed decisions in some cases but not others.
•Appeals to the Court of Appeal.
•Focus on generic and individual grounds of challenge.
•Issues concerning interpretation of the Ilias test, Tameside duty, Soering test, and Refugee Convention.

Legal Principles

Ilias test for thorough examination of asylum system adequacy

Case law (implied)

Tameside duty for sufficient inquiry

Case law (implied)

Soering test for real risk of refoulement or Article 3 ill-treatment

Case law (implied)

Refugee Convention rights

Refugee Convention

Othman test for reliability of assurances

Othman (App No. 8139/09)

Article 31 of the Refugee Convention (penalty)

Refugee Convention

Certification power under Part 5 of Schedule 3 to the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004

Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004

Gillick test for unlawful policy

Gillick (implied)

Data protection legislation

Data protection legislation (unspecified)

Definition of trafficking under the European Convention on Action against Trafficking

European Convention on Action against Trafficking

Definition of forced labour by the International Labour Organisation

International Labour Organisation

Outcomes

Permission to appeal granted on some grounds, refused on others.

Varied reasons given for granting or refusing permission, based on arguability and overlap with other grounds.

AAA (Syria) & Ors., R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Key Facts

Legal Principles

Outcomes

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