Full text: the Supreme Court’s Rwanda ruling

The Supreme Court has ruled that the government’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda is unlawful. Below is the full judgment from the court, setting out the reasons for their decision:

Introduction 

(1) The nature of the issue before the court

1. This appeal is concerned with the Secretary of State’s policy that certain people claiming asylum in the United Kingdom should not have their claims considered here, but should instead be sent to Rwanda in order to claim asylum there. Their claims will then be decided by the Rwandan authorities, with the result that if their claims are successful, they will be granted asylum in Rwanda.
2. In this appeal, the court is required to decide whether the Rwanda policy is lawful. That is a legal question which the court has to decide on the basis of the evidence and established legal principles. The court is not concerned with the political debate surrounding the policy, and nothing in this judgment should be regarded as supporting or opposing any political view of the issues.