Court overrules removal of asylum seeker so mother and child can stay together
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
A landmark ruling means families facing removal from the UK could have a better chance of being allowed to stay with their children if it would be in their child's best interests.
When considering the best interests of children Lord Kerr ruled on the "primacy" of best interest considerations and stating that "only reasons of considerable force [can] displace it".
The court also recognised that "an important part of this is discovering the child’s own views" and stressed the need for early and effective legal representation that would "enable the right questions to be asked and answered at the right time".
Syd Bolton and Baljeet Sandhu, co-directors of the Refugee Children’s Rights Project, which is run by the Children’s Legal Centre and the Islington Law Centre, said: "This decision marks a significant step forward. The court has now set in stone the need to recognise the rights of the child and has sought to address the injustice done to children when immigration control is put before their welfare and needs.
"We are calling for the courts, the UK Border Agency and the Legal Services Commission to put in place child-sensitive procedures to ensure that this judgment is given full effect in their duties to safeguard children, and that in all decisions about children and their families, their best interests should customarily dictate the outcome."
He added that government’s proposals to cut legal aid funding would deny access to justice for children.
"If these proposals come to fruition an important case such as this may have never reached the court’s doors."
