The Home Office v ASY & Ors
[2023] EWHC 196 (KB)
ASY & Ors v Home Office
18 April 2024
[2024] EWCA Civ 373
Court of Appeal
People on limited visas with no access to benefits sued the government for leaving them destitute. A lower court said they could get money, but a higher court disagreed. The highest court said the government should have helped prevent destitution, and the lower court will now decide if each person deserves compensation.
Key Facts
- •Four claimants, non-British nationals with British children, were granted limited leave to remain (LLTR) with a no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition.
- •The NRPF condition was imposed under an old regime later deemed unlawful in R (W) v Secretary of State for the Home Department.
- •Claimants sought damages for breaches of their Article 3 ECHR rights due to destitution resulting from the unlawful NRPF regime.
- •The NRPF condition was lifted in each case after the Home Office recognized destitution.
- •A preliminary issue was raised regarding whether claimants have a right to damages for breach of their 'procedural rights' under Article 3 ECHR.
- •The High Court overturned the County Court's decision awarding damages.
Legal Principles
Article 3 ECHR prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment; destitution alone is insufficient.
R (Limbuela) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2005] UKHL 66
A public authority's duty under Article 3 includes preventative measures to avoid imminent risk of inhuman or degrading treatment.
R (W) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 1299
Damages under section 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 require a finding of unlawfulness and that damages are necessary to afford just satisfaction.
R (Greenfield) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2005] UKHL 14
Article 3 positive obligations include systems, operational, and investigative duties.
X v Bulgaria (2021) 50 BHRC 244
Outcomes
The Court of Appeal allowed the claimants' appeal.
The High Court erred in finding no systems duty on the Home Office to prevent destitution amounting to inhuman or degrading treatment under the old, unlawful NRPF regime. Claimants can recover damages if they suffered inhuman or degrading treatment or were at imminent risk, notified the Home Office, received an inadequate response, and suffered distress.
The case was remitted to the County Court judge for reconsideration.
The judge had the necessary background and the amounts at stake were modest.
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