The Australian government's indefinite detention of refugees was unlawful because it gave politicians powers reserved for the courts.
The court also confirmed judges unanimously agreed indefinite immigration detention was unlawful, after earlier announcing a decision by a "majority".
Two of the judges wanted the court to make orders only when it published its reasons, and they also wanted more time to consider the matter before they ultimately agreed with their colleagues.
Judges in the decision found the indefinite detention of a Rohingya Muslim man from Myanmar, known as NZYQ, was "beyond the legislative power of the Commonwealth Parliament".
No country would settle the man after he raped a 10-year-old child and served time in prison.
He has since been released from immigration detention.
In its decision, the High Court overruled a 20-year precedent set by the 2004 case of Ahmed Al-Kateb, a stateless Palestinian man without a criminal record.
The Al-Kateb case found the Migration Act permitted indefinite detention and said that detention wasn't in breach of the constitution's separation of powers - a finding the High Court disproved in its reasons.
The Rohingya man known as NZYQ argued the Migration Act was in breach of the constitution, given it grants courts "the exclusively judicial function of adjudging and punishing criminal guilt".
"The Court reopened and overruled the constitutional holding in Al-Kateb," judges said in a summary of the case published on Tuesday.
Judges decided sections of the Migration Act contravened the constitution because the Rohingya man's detention was not for a "legitimate and non-punitive purpose".
They pointed to a previous case, which found laws ordering someone's detention without a court order contravened the constitution unless they were for a justified and non-punitive purpose.
"In other words, detention is penal or punitive unless justified as otherwise," the judges said.
In the case of Al-Kateb, judges said immigration detention was justified and non-punitive as long as it meant a detainee could be deported later or prevented from entering the Australian community.
Judges in the Rohingya man's matter said that approach was "an incomplete and, accordingly, inaccurate statement of the applicable principle" in circumstances where there was no real prospect of the plaintiff's removal from Australia.
They ruled the man's detention was unlawful as of May 30, about five months before the decision that set in motion his release.
The court's decision prompted the federal government to allocate $255 million toward enforcing strict visa conditions.
Of the money, $88 million will go towards the Australian Federal Police for regional response teams and personnel to investigate breaches of such conditions.
The cohort of released detainees included some convicted criminals.
Although they have already served prison sentences, growing outrage and concerns about a perceived danger to the community prompted the government to rush through emergency laws imposing strict visa conditions.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMie2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LjluZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9qdWRnZXMtdG8tcmV2ZWFsLXJlYXNvbnMtYmVoaW5kLWltbWlncmF0aW9uLWRlY2lzaW9uLzA2Y2YzMjFmLWUzNWItNDY1Ni04YmM2LTk5OTY0OTNlOTJiM9IBRWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLjluZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzA2Y2YzMjFmLWUzNWItNDY1Ni04YmM2LTk5OTY0OTNlOTJiMw?oc=5
2023-11-28 06:01:31Z
2631417751
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "High Court reveals reasons for finding indefinite immigration detention unlawful - 9News"
Post a Comment