A Legal Analysis of the Invalidation of the Rwanda Policy by the Court of Appeal

AAA and others v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 745

Abstract

The Rwanda Deportation Case is considered one of the most controversial legal disputes in the last decade. This case has two aspects: The first aspect of this case is the issue of deporting asylum seekers, and the second aspect of the case is the invalidation of the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) which is set out in a MoU. This paper argues that the Court of Appeal’s judgment has three critical points: first, this judgment failed in applying proper consideration in the good faith of the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD).  Second, was the absence of any mention of the right of the UK government to remove asylum seekers to a third safe country under the principle of a safe third country in the concluding remarks. Finally, this judgment did not address lack of any review on the substance of the MoU.