The Australian High Court delivered a milestone ruling on Tuesday, declaring that detaining migrants indefinitely, in cases where deportation isn’t feasible, violates the rule of law. This overrules a 2004 precedent that had empowered the government to hold migrants, categorized as “stateless” indefinitely.
The crux of Tuesday’s case was a Rohingya man known as “NZYQ”, accused of sexual abuse charges and impracticable for extradition, as no country was willing to accept him. As a result of the recent hastening, the Australia government is directed to release him from detention.
The pivotal case in 2004, Al-Kateb v. Godwin, established that an endless detention could only be sanctioned by the Australian law, if there was a genuine intention to eventually deport the detainee. However, the case brought forth the quandary of how to release and deport detainees who are effectively stateless.
NZYQ, unlike Ahmed Al-Kateb from the 2004 case, had multiple offers from several nations, traditional allies of Australia, including one from the US. Conversely, Al-Kateb has no recourse with no state willing to accept him. This distinction was key in the court’s decision, as the government appeared neglectful about any possibility of NZYQ’s removal from Australia, thereby barring him from indefinite detention.
The verdict was heartily welcomed by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Its President, Professor Rosalind Croucher, appreciated the contributed efforts of those who assisted in actualizing the ‘historic decision’.
Currently, Australia houses more than 100 people under this contentious law, detained for over five years and rendered static in Australia’s extradition procedures due to reluctance from other countries in accepting them. Notably, a significant portion of this group is in situations akin to NZYQ and may be released in the near future.