Sino, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department

THE THE DEPUTY JUDGE: The Claimant has been in immigration detention for 4 years and 11 months. I propose to state what my conclusion is now on one issue. That issue is whether any further detention of the Claimant would be lawful.

I am satisfied that it is very much more likely than not that, if released from detention, the Claimant will reoffend and abscond. Nonetheless, in my judgment, any further detention of the Claimant would no longer be lawful in all the circumstances, given in particular the length of time which he has already spent in detention. This does not mean that I have concluded that the Secretary of State has in fact had power to detain the Claimant until today. I reserve my judgment on that and on other issues on which I have yet to hear submissions in full. I will provide my reasons for my conclusion on the issue which I have decided today later when I give my judgment on all the issues.

The question then arises about what the correct approach now is. If the Secretary of State wants to give temporary admission, she may do so on conditions. I am not sure whether the position is that I now have power to give bail.

MS HARRISON: I think in circumstances where you said the detention is not lawful, it is a question of the Secretary of State imposing conditions. I know that in other cases the court has assisted in terms of the appropriate conditions, but in principle it is not going to be bail, it is going to be either release on temporary admission or on CIO bail.

My Lord, I am told that the conditions that the Secretary of State seeks would have been those that they would have suggested to the court had Mr Justice Kenneth Parker heard the bail application. I can hand your Lordship up a copy of those, we are content with them, for your Lordship's records as to what those conditions would be.

THE DEPUTY JUDGE: Mr Thomann, I have the conditions. I am not sure whether I have any function in relation to the conditions. It appears to me that, if the Secretary of State wants to impose these conditions on temporary admission, that will be a matter for the Secretary of State, unless I have misunderstood the position.

MR THOMANN: I am grateful.

MS HARRISON: My Lord, the only observation that we would make about them is that they are conditions that are clearly substantially less than what was within the Secretary of State's armoury to impose. So, for example, they do not include electronic tagging. It is the decision the Secretary of State has made, and obviously we are content with that.

THE THE DEPUTY JUDGE: Can I say that I am due to sit in the week beginning 4 July and the week beginning 11 July. So what would obviously be sensible, given that at the moment you are giving a estimate of half a day for the remainder, is to find a day when both of you are going to be available.

MS HARRISON: Yes.

MR THOMANN: My Lord, I already know that both those weeks I am going to be potentially in court every day.

MS HARRISON: I would have to just double check, but I do not think that I would have that difficulty for the entirety of that period. But I would need to double check.

THE THE DEPUTY JUDGE: I wonder whether the sensible thing to do would be for your clerks to liaise with my clerk in chambers to find when we can find a date. Plainly I would like to finish this hearing sooner rather than later. I know I cannot do it next week, even if I am coming back for a day, which the Administrative Court has not planned for me to be here. It may be possible the following week, but I would be very reluctant to see this go off towards the end of July, because plainly I have to do a judgment and the longer it goes the more difficult it is to remember everything.

MR THOMANN: My Lord, I am only junior counsel in the case I am on, so if there were a date that would suit everyone --

THE THE DEPUTY JUDGE: What, in those two weeks in June?

MR THOMANN: It is more likely to be in the first of those weeks.

THE THE DEPUTY JUDGE: Well, can I suggest what you do is you liaise with my clerk. If and when we can find a date which meets your availability and a date which I have available then my clerk will speak to the Administrative Court to see whether that can be done.

MS HARRISON: My Lord, can I say in terms of practicalities. The order for release will only take place once it has been properly sealed by the court, so if there is a means for how we can facilitate that speedily today, it may be we will just have to draft an order for your Lordship and then for your Lordship to sign it, because I know that the detainors will want to see the actual document.

THE THE DEPUTY JUDGE: Possibly if you draft a declaration and then give it to the associate.

MS HARRISON: Depending on what my position is now we could agree a handwritten draft for your Lordship to sign and then that can be given (Inaudible).

THE THE DEPUTY JUDGE: Why don't you do that. If you can do that, I will initial it. That is probably the easiest thing to do, if you do can do that sooner rather than later.