Litigation Letter
Immigration
R (on the application of Nouazli) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] UKSC 16, [2016] All ER (D) 133 (Apr); NLJ 6 May
The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by an Afghan national who became permanently resident in the UK through his marriage to a French citizen, and who had unsuccessfully contended before the Court of Appeal that his detention pending removal after serving a prison sentence had been unlawful and contravened Art 27(1) of the Parliament and Council Directive (EC) 2004/58. The court held that his detention had not been unlawful. Detention under reg 24(1) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1003), did not discriminate without lawful justification against European Economic Area nationals and their family members, and the absence of a time limit had not rendered the appellant’s detention unlawful under European Union law.