The Bill was brought to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling that a government scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful as it is not a safe third country.
Nick Vineall KC, Chair of the Bar Council, said: ‘The Bill contains some striking provisions.
‘Section 2(1) requires every decision maker (including the courts) to “conclusively” treat the Republic of Rwanda as a safe country, whether or not it is in fact safe. Section 3 disapplies some key provisions of the Human Rights Act. Happily, s 4 retains the right of the courts to consider whether Rwanda is a safe country for any particular individual.’
Vineall predicted legal challenges if the bill passed into law.
Law Society chief executive officer Ian Jeffery said the bill would create a statutory duty that every decision maker must treat Rwanda as a safe country. Jeffery said parliament ‘cannot use law to change fact’.
