Chris Buttler KC

The University of Sussex (the “University”) has today won its case against the Office for Students (the “OfS”) in the High Court (Lieven J), overturning a £585,000 fine. The Court found that the OfS decision to sanction the University for alleged breaches of its conditions of registration was unlawful.

The case concerned three Tamil asylum seekers (the “Applicants”) who fled Sri Lanka for refugee camps in India, where they had faced persecution. After their boats foundered in the Indian Ocean, they were taken by British authorities to Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory, where they were unlawfully detained for three years.

The British Indian Ocean Territory (“BIOT”) Court of Appeal has upheld the judgment of the BIOT Supreme Court that Tamil asylum seekers were unlawfully detained on Diego Garcia for three years. The Claimants arrived on Diego Garcia after their boat, which was bound for Canada, foundered in the Indian Ocean. They were escorted by the Royal Navy to Diego Garcia, where they claimed asylum.