I’ve been fighting Australia’s mandatory immigration detention regime for decades – the high court’s decision is revolutionary | Mary Crock
Mandatory detention has long been a running sore causing indiscriminate harm – it needs to be overseen by a proper judicial process
On Wednesday the high court delivered a revolutionary result that upends more than two decades of jurisprudence. After hearing submissions over two days and taking a short adjournment, chief justice Stephen Gageler announced that “at least a majority” found that plaintiff NZYQ – a Rohingya man with a criminal conviction who faced the prospect of detention for life – was being held in immigration detention unlawfully.
The result overturns the 2004 ruling in the case of Al Kateb where the high court narrowly upheld the constitutionality of Australia’s mandatory immigration detention regime in cases where a non-citizen has no right to a visa yet cannot be removed from the country. The judges’ full reasons will not be available for some time. It’s the very first case heard by the new high court following Monday’s commissioning of chief justice Gageler and the induction of Justice Beech Jones.
Law (Australia) | The Guardian
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