Recommendation 25

The common law approach to immigration detention, established in the case of Hardial Singh, currently operates to ensure that immigration detention complies with Article 5 ECHR. This recognises that it must be for the courts to determine the legal boundaries of administrative detention. The Bill would alter that approach, leaving it to the Secretary of the State to decide what amounts to a reasonable period of immigration detention. We are extremely concerned that this change would result in an immigration detention system that is not consistent with Article 5 ECHR. The Bill should be amended to ensure that there is independent, judicial oversight of individual liberty and compliance with Article 5 ECHR (see Annex, Amendments 15 and 16). (Paragraph 202) 124 Legislative Scrutiny: Illegal Migration Bill