06 May 2024
Unconstitutionality à l’Anglaise
After long and tortuous proceedings in Parliament, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 finally received Royal Assent on Thursday 25 April. There are so many problems with the Act and they are so fundamental that there has been speculation that the courts might refuse to apply some of the Act’s provisions. In this blogpost, I suggest that aside from the ‘hard-line’ approach of striking down or disapplying the statute in whole or in part, the courts also have a ‘soft-line’ option of declaring its unconstitutionality without denying its status as binding law. I explain how such an intervention might fit into the constitutional tradition of the UK and what may make it attractive in the case at hand. Continue reading >>
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29 February 2024
When Treaties are Forbidden
A few months ago the UK’s Supreme Court held that the Secretary of State’s policy to remove protection seekers to Rwanda to have their claims determined there was unlawful. The British government responded to this decision with a Treaty and Bill that seek to legislate the fiction, or indeed, the falsehood, of Rwanda’s safety. This move demonstrates the fragility of the rule of law, both domestically and internationally. Addressing the latter, this essay shifts focus from domestic challenges to international ones, exploring whether STCs could be contested as ‘forbidden treaties’. Continue reading >>
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27 February 2024
Abschreckung um jeden Preis?
Zurzeit berät das Oberhaus des britischen Parlaments (House of Lords) die sog. Safety of Rwanda Bill. Zusammen mit dem Illegal Immigration Act soll dieses Gesetz die Abschiebung von Flüchtlingen nach Ruanda ermöglichen, um dort deren Asylverfahren durchzuführen. Während entsprechende Pläne auch in Deutschland Anklang finden, zeigt das Gesetzesvorhaben in bedenkenswerter Deutlichkeit, welche rechtsstaatlichen Konsequenzen mit einem solchen Outsourcing von Asylverfahren verbunden sind. Denn um einen möglichst wirksamen Abschreckungseffekt auf andere Flüchtende zu erzielen, haben die britische Regierung und das Unterhaus des Parlaments (House of Commons) bereits dafür gestimmt, Tatsachen zu erfinden, Grundrechte außer Kraft zu setzen und internationales Recht zu brechen. Continue reading >>
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