Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

How did a European court halt Britain's Rwanda deportation flight?

The ECHR is Europe’s top human rights court and serves as a court of last instance in cases where all domestic avenues are exhausted

How did a European court halt Britain's Rwanda deportation flight?

A European court ruling sparked an embarrassing climbdown for the British government by forcing the cancellation of Britain's first deportation flight of asylum seekers to Rwanda.

The British government expressed fury at the decision. But it is legally obliged to implement rulings by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), as a member of the Council of Europe and signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights. We take a look at the powers of the ECHR and why its verdicts apply to the UK.


What is the ECHR?

The ECHR is Europe's top human rights court and serves as a court of last instance in cases where all domestic avenues are exhausted.

It is part of the 46-member Council of Europe (COE) and oversees the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights -- signed in 1950 and effective from 1953.

Rulings by the ECHR are not advisory, but legally binding and must, as such, be implemented by COE member states.

What did this ruling say?

The ECHR, responding to requests from human rights lawyers, issued a rarely used fast track "urgent interim measure" ordering the UK not to remove an Iraqi man, named as K.N., to Rwanda.

He had applied for asylum in the UK in May after crossing the Channel by boat.

"The Court grants such requests only on an exceptional basis, when the applicants would otherwise face a real risk of irreversible harm," it explained.

The measure effectively means that the UK cannot remove the man until a final decision in a domestic judicial review process. It prompted further appeals within the UK that then grounded the entire flight.

Why does this happen after Brexit?

The COE and the ECHR are separate from the European Union. Britain's exit from the Brussels-based bloc, therefore, has no impact on its membership of the COE, or its obligation to adhere to ECHR verdicts.

With its 46 members, the COE is a much wider body than the EU. In addition to the UK, other key COE members who do not belong to the EU include Turkey and Ukraine.

The only significant European states not to be members of the COE are Belarus and Russia. Belarus still employs the death penalty, a red line for membership of the body. Russia quit the COE and was then expelled anyway after its invasion of Ukraine this year.

What does the UK government say?

The British government has reacted with fury to Tuesday's ruling, with some even questioning Britain's future membership of the COE.

Work and Pension Secretary Therese Coffey told Sky News that she had "never known such a quick decision" from the ECHR and "the public will be surprised at European judges overruling British judges".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared to question the human rights convention, saying "will it be necessary to change some rules to help us as we go along? It very well may be."

Ironically, Johnson's own maternal grandfather James Fawcett helped to write the convention and played a key role in an ECHR commission.

Can the UK defy ECHR rulings?

The rulings from the court are legally binding. But there have been issues concerning compliance by certain COE member states with its verdicts, especially Turkey and ex-member Russia which have flouted a number of rulings.

The ECHR had in December 2019 ordered Turkey to release leading civil society activist Osman Kavala, but he has remained behind bars.

The committee of ministers of the COE launched infringement proceedings against Turkey for only the second time in its history over the case. The process could ultimately see Turkey suspended or even expelled from the body.

The ECHR in February 2021 granted an interim measure ordering Russia to release opposition figure Alexei Navalny. Russia ignored the ruling and Navalny remained in jail.

The UK was also involved in a dispute with the ECHR for over a decade over a blanket ban on the right to vote for prisoners which was largely ended by a compromise plan submitted by the UK government in 2017.

(AFP)

More For You

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

India declines UN investigator’s participation in Air India crash probe: Report

INDIA has declined a request from the United Nations aviation agency to allow one of its investigators to observe the probe into the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12, Reuters reported, citing two senior sources familiar with the matter.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had offered to provide assistance by sending one of its investigators, following the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner earlier this month. It was an unusual move, as ICAO typically deploys investigators only upon request from the country leading the investigation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anna Wintour

Wintour’s style of leadership earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour”

Getty Images

Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years

Key points

  • Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years
  • She will remain Vogue’s global editorial director and hold senior roles at Condé Nast
  • Wintour transformed US Vogue into a global fashion authority
  • The 75-year-old has received numerous honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom

End of an era at US Vogue

Anna Wintour has stepped down as the editor of US Vogue, bringing to a close a 37-year tenure that redefined the publication and saw her become one of the most influential figures in global fashion.

The announcement was made on Thursday (26 June) during a staff meeting in New York. Wintour, 75, will no longer oversee the day-to-day editorial operations of Vogue’s US edition. However, she will continue to serve as Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer, maintaining senior leadership roles across the company.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

FILE PHOTO: A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

THE people responsible for the Post Office Horizon scandal may not face trial until 2028, according to the senior police officer leading the investigation.

Commander Stephen Clayman has said that the process is taking longer because police are now looking at a wider group of people, not just those directly involved in decisions about the faulty Horizon computer system, reported the Telegraph.

Keep ReadingShow less