The UK Court of Appeal in R (Bizimana) v Secretary of State for the Home Department has found that detention of a deportee is unlawful once it becomes apparent that deportation is not going to occur within a reasonable time frame.
The appellant claimed to be a Burundi national and entered the UK illegally in 2003. His claim for asylum was rejected on the basis that the Secretary of State did not accept that he was Burundian. However, during the period when his claim was being assessed, he began cohabiting with a woman who also claimed to be a Burundian national. They had two children and the woman maintained that they were the appellant’s children and so they were granted leave to remain.
The appellant was convicted of possession of false identity documents, was placed in a detention centre and was served with a deportation order under the Immigration Act 1971. However a debate arose at to the appellant’s nationality and the acquisition of travel documents enabling the authorities to deport the appellant. The Court pointed out that “while all these debates raged on, the claimant remained in detention and time ticked by.”
In 2009, the appellant applied for the deportation order to be revoked and issued judicial review proceedings on the grounds that his detention was unlawful. The deportation order was revoked and he granted leave to remain. The appellant’s claim for judicial review was dismissed as his detention had been unlawful.
Click here to read the full judgment.