High Court Rules Indefinite Detention of Asylum Seekers Unlawful, Overturning 20-Year-Old Decision

Source: News @ 7news

In a historic decision, the High Court of Australia has ruled that the indefinite detention of asylum seekers who have nowhere else to go is unlawful, overturning a 20-year-old precedent. This landmark ruling means that asylum seekers, who previously could be detained indefinitely if they could not be sent to another country, must now be released within a reasonable time frame.

Most of the judges agreed to overturn the 2004 decision that allowed failed asylum seekers, who could not be relocated to another country, to be held in immigration detention indefinitely. The High Court’s decision came after lawyers for a detained Rohingya man from Myanmar, referred to as NZYQ, argued that the earlier ruling was incorrect. Chief Justice Stephen Gageler expressed concern about the lack of a time limit for indefinite detention.

The original decision involved stateless Palestinian Ahmed Ali Al-Kateb and Iraqi citizen Abbas Mohammed Hasan Al Khafaji, both of whom arrived in Australia in 2000 and were detained after their temporary protection visa applications were denied and no other country agreed to take them.

This ruling is expected to lead to the release of nearly 90 detainees who are in similar situations as the Rohingya man. Jane McAdam, director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW, hailed the decision as a significant and long-overdue victory for human rights, emphasizing that indefinite detention has always been arbitrary and unlawful under international law.

The court will publish its full judgment in the coming months.