Chahal v United Kingdom
The prohibition on deporting a person to a country where he faces a real risk of ill treatment is absolute, and cannot be balanced against the threat he poses to national security.
Facts
Mr Chahal, a Sikh separatist leader living in England, was detained with a view to deportation to India, on the ground that his presence was not conducive to the public good for reasons of national security, because of his alleged involvement in terrorism. He claimed that he would be at real risk of torture by the Indian security forces if returned. The government argued that the risk to him had to be balanced against the threat he posed to national security.
Legal principle
The Grand Chamber held that deportation would breach article 3. The court said that article 3 enshrines one of the most fundamental values of a democratic society, and that the prohibition of ill treatment is equally absolute in expulsion cases. The activities of the individual, however undesirable or dangerous, cannot be a material consideration, and there was no room for balancing the risk of ill treatment against the reasons for expulsion. There were substantial grounds for believing that Mr Chahal faced a real risk of ill treatment. The court also found a breach of article 5(4), because there was no effective judicial review of his detention, which led to the creation of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
Related cases on prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment (article 3)
- A v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2) [2005] UKHL 71, [2006] 2 AC 221
- A v United Kingdom (1999) 27 EHRR 611
- AM (Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 17, [2021] AC 633
- Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis v DSD [2018] UKSC 11, [2019] AC 196
- Gäfgen v Germany (2011) 52 EHRR 1
- Ireland v United Kingdom (1979) 2 EHRR 25
- R (AAA) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 42
- R (Limbuela) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2005] UKHL 66, [2006] 1 AC 396
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