The UK’s designation by Ireland as a “safe third country,” to which asylum applicants may be sent back for further processing, has been declared illegal by the High Court, reports Breaking News.
In a significant ruling on Friday, Ms. Justice Siobhán Phelan determined that the designation, which was issued by Minister of Justice Helen McEntee in reaction to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on January 31, 2020, is “unlawful as a matter of EU law” as it lacks a few necessary clauses.
The designation allows a determination that an application for international protection is inadmissible if the applicant comes from the UK and is somewhat comparable to a programme that operates between EU member states, reports Breaking News.
A person may be sent back to the UK, a safe non-EU nation, so that their asylum claim or circumstances can be assessed there.
According to Ms. Justice Phelan, Irish law does not mandate that the designation be used until the State is certain that the applicant would not suffer significant damage if they are sent to a third country.
In addition, the State has not adopted appropriate procedure rules to guarantee that an application for international protection is not returned to a third country in violation of the bare minimum required by EU law, reports Breaking News.
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