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Articles by Jonathan Metzer
Court of Appeal upholds Palestine Action proscription – an extended look
Secretary of State for the Home Department v R (Ammori) [2026] EWCA Civ 721 A Court of Appeal panel of five Judges, including the Lady Chief Justice, Lady Carr LCJ, the Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, the Vice President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), Edis LJ, and Lewis and Whipple LJJ has overturned the Divisional Court’s decision quashing the proscription of Palestine Action, holding that it erred in its approach both to the challenge brought under the Home Secretary’s...
Divisional Court quashes Palestine Action proscription: an extended look
The Divisional Court in R (Ammori) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 292 (Admin)(Dame Victoria Sharp P and Swift and Steyn JJ) has held that the proscription of Palestine Action should be quashed on the basis that the Home Secretary had failed to follow relevant policy guidance and had not struck a fair balance in respect of relevant rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Home Secretary has indicated that she intends to appeal.
False evidence, procedurally deficient investigation, and warning bells for contempt: MI5's approach to domestic abuse agent scrutinised
In HM Attorney General for England and Wales v British Broadcasting Corporation [2025] EWHC 1669 (KB), the Divisional Court (the Lady Chief Justice,the President of the King’s Bench Division, and Chamberlain J) gave judgment in relation to the deployment of evidence by MI5 in proceedings concerning the BBC’s reporting on a covert human intelligence source (CHIS), referred to as “X”.
Unanimous Supreme Court: Rwanda removals are unlawful
R ((AAA) Syria and Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 42 The Government’s flagship policy of removing individual asylum seekers to Rwanda for their claims to be decided under the Rwandan asylum system that was announced on 14th April 2022 has been found to be unlawful by a unanimous Supreme Court. The Claimants were 10 individual asylum-seekers who entered the UK irregularly in small boats, together with one charity, Asylum Aid.
Unanimous Supreme Court: Rwanda removals are unlawful
R ((AAA) Syria and Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 42 The Government’s flagship policy of removing individual asylum seekers to Rwanda for their claims to be decided under the Rwandan asylum system that was announced on 14th April 2022 has been found to be unlawful by a unanimous Supreme Court. The Claimants were 10 individual asylum-seekers who entered the UK irregularly in small boats, together with one charity, Asylum Aid.
Court of Appeal upholds challenge to Rwanda removals policy - an extended look
R ((AAA) Syria and Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 745 The Claimants in this case are 10 individual asylum-seekers from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam, Sudan and Albania who entered the UK irregularly by crossing the English Channel in small boats, together with one charity, Asylum Aid.
Court of Appeal upholds challenge to Rwanda removals policy – an extended look - UK Human Rights Blog
R ((AAA) Syria and Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 745 The Claimants in this case are 10 individual asylum-seekers from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam, Sudan and Albania who entered the UK irregularly by crossing the English Channel in small boats, together with one charity, Asylum Aid.
Divisional Court upholds Government’s Rwanda policy - an extended look
R ((AAA) Syria and Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3230 (Admin) On 14th April of this year, the then-Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced a new ‘Migration and Economic Development Partnership’ between the UK Government and the Government of Rwanda to enable the removal of certain persons to who enter the UK to claim asylum (particularly those who arrive in small boats crossing the English Channel) to Rwanda, where – if their claims succeeded – they would be...
Divisional Court upholds Government's Rwanda policy – an extended look - UK Human Rights Blog
R ((AAA) Syria and Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3230 (Admin) On 14th April of this year, the then-Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced a new ‘Migration and Economic Development Partnership’ between the UK Government and the Government of Rwanda to enable the removal of certain persons to who enter the UK to claim asylum (particularly those who arrive in small boats crossing the English Channel) to Rwanda, where – if their claims succeeded – they would be...
2021 Reviewed
And so we come to the end of another year. The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to dominate the news, particularly with the very concerning surge of the Omicron variant this month. Many reading this will be separated from loved ones over Christmas.
UK Human Rights Blog
22 December 2021 by Jonathan Metzer And so we come to the end of another year. The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to dominate the news, particularly with the very concerning surge of the Omicron variant this month. Many reading this will be separated from loved ones over Christmas.
10 cases that defined 2020
The Christmas decorations at Middle Temple. Photo by the author. This time last year I wrote that 2019 had been “perhaps the most tumultuous period in British politics for decades”. Little did I know what 2020 would have in store. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused loss, suffering and anxiety across not only the UK but almost all of the globe.
Article 6 applies to challenge to conditions imposed on suspected Al-Qaeda affiliate – an extended look - UK Human Rights Blog
19 May 2020 by Jonathan Metzer QX v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 1221 (Admin) In a complicated but very important decision, the High Court has ruled as a preliminary issue that the procedural protections under Article 6 which require a person to be given sufficient information about the allegations against them so they can give effective instructions to their lawyers will apply to a challenge to conditions imposed by order on a man suspected to have affiliations to...
‘One of the most controversial questions which the law of human rights can generate’: Supreme Court alters approach to Article 3 in medical cases - an extended look | LexBlog
Unlike some of the rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, the prohibition on torture or inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 3 is absolute. There is no question of striking a balance between Article 3 and other considerations: the state simply may not act in a way which would breach this prohibition.
UK Human Rights Blog
15 May 2019 by Jonathan Metzer The Supreme Court has ruled in R (Privacy International) v Investigatory Powers Tribunal [2019] UKSC 22 that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal’s decisions are nevertheless amenable to judicial review, despite the existence of a powerfully-drawn ‘ouster clause’ preventing its decisions from being questioned by a court.
10 cases that defined 2018
20 December 2018 by Jonathan Metzer Jonathan Metzer is the commissioning editor of the UK Human Rights Blog. He is a barrister at One Crown Office Row. And so we come to the end of another whirlwind year. It has gone by with worryingly rapid speed. As I write this it is hard to remember that scorching hot summer, with a Royal Wedding in bright sunshine and the England team surpassing all expectations at the World Cup.
Our vision for the future
We on the centre-left need a new blueprint for the world we want, writes Joseph Hamm The language of the centre-left in modern times is defensive: stop Brexit, stop Donald Trump, protect our NHS. Everything is in decline and everything is a disaster. While progressive fatalism is often understandable, defensive posturing and apocalyptic prophecies do not amount to a convincing narrative.
Could the Windrush Scheme be open to legal challenge?
29 May 2018 by Jonathan Metzer On 24th May 2018 a new scheme to process citizenship applications for the Windrush generation was announced, after the Government’s apologies last month. The Windrush Scheme guidance explains how this will work in detail. It is notable that applicants who are refused will have no right of appeal against this decision. The chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Yvette Cooper MP, has tweeted to express her concern about this.
Proud to be unfashionable
It may be unfashionable to be on the centre-left, but the ideas in our movement show we have plenty left to say I joined Progress two months ago, because I am a ‘melt’. I am about three steps away from getting one of those embarrassing ‘Europe is for lovers’ T-shirts, I listen to Things Can Only Get Better on the treadmill, and when I told my girlfriend I would be getting her a copy of The End of the Party by Andrew Rawnsley for Christmas, she went puce and threatened to dump me.
Brenda Dean: an obituary
Brenda Dean, a trailblazer and role model for women, died last Wednesday at the age of 74. Mary Goudie pays tribute She was a lifelong trade unionist who rose to prominence in Britain during the 1980s as president, and then general secretary, of the print workers’ union, SOGAT. In 1983 she became president of SOGAT – the first woman to represent a major trade union, becoming general secretary in 1985.
Cave quid vis - Progress
Despite all the odds, Jacob Rees-Mogg wins the 2022 general election to the disbelief of progressives everywhere They said it was impossible. Like Jeremy Corbyn becoming Labour leader, they said it would never happen. They said he was too extreme, like Margaret Thatcher. They said he lacked any experience, like Tony Blair or Donald Trump. They said people like him never become prime minister, because no one like him had ever become prime minister before.
Review - The Candidate: Jeremy Corbyn’s Improbable Path to Power
Sue Macmillan reviews Alex Nunns’ insider account of Jeremy Corbyn’s rise to become leader of the Labour party, with this updated edition including the story of last year’s snap election All election accounts suffer from the same problem: it is extremely difficult to separate the factors that lead us to cast our votes.
The Insider - Progress
Your insider would like to begin this month’s column by extending congratulations to Lara McNeill, the new youth representative on Labour’s National Executive Committee. If you are reading this before mid-March, you could be forgiven for thinking that the result has yet to be announced because, well, the election is not yet over. That is technically true. But before Christmas a change was made to the way Young Labour members elect their NEC place.
The centre-left must strike back
Politicians on the centre-left should fight for their principles or risk indignity and irrelevance, argues Jonathan Metzer The centre-left has always been attacked by broadsides from its left flank. The main charge is that centre-left politicians are hypocrites. People who would like to be on the far left but who lack the courage to fight for their principles. When this charge is not rebutted, the result is that the hard left claims the mantle of the ‘true’ progressive cause.
The right of appeal against refusal of a residence card: where are we up to?
One way for an immigrant to gain the right to be in the UK is by making an application under the Immigration Rules. But these applications are relatively expensive and the requirements have become increasingly stringent (see, for example, here). For as long as the UK remains in the EU, there is also an alternative option – an application under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations. This offers a route for the family of an EU citizen to apply for a UK residence card.
A gap in the market
Labour’s centre-left must become the radicals they once were and own the future, writes Alan Milburn Not so long ago, politics was a closed shop. Discourse and debate were the preserve of members of parliament, party members and political commentators. Now politics belongs to millions. The internet has democratised political debate. I view that as a good thing. The downside is those with the loudest voices and the sharpest messages often dominate the airwaves.
Return of the Weekly Round-Up
Return of the Weekly Round-Up We are delighted to announce the return of the weekly news Round-Up! Each Monday, Sarah-Jane Ewart, Conor Monighan and Eleanor Leydon will be giving you a bite-sized round-up of legal developments over the last week. These will include summaries of the latest decisions in the courts and discussion of wider issues. We hope these updates will assist in keeping on top of the fast-moving currents in the law in 2018.
Inadequate inquest following a police chase quashed after almost 20 years
On 5th December 2017, the Divisional Court gave judgment in Power v HM Senior Coroner for Inner London [2017] EWHC 3117 (Admin), directing that an inquest held in 1998 into a road traffic accident following a police chase had been insufficient and a fresh inquest needed to be held. On 17th August 1997 at about 10:45 Mr Onese Power was driving a Kawasaki motorbike along Camden Road, London NW1. He was doing about 60 mph, at double the speed limit.
Naming your Abusers | UK Human Rights Blog on WordPress.com
The right of a claimant to name the people who abused her prevailed over the rights of the perpetrators and others to private and family life. The claimant, Natasha Armes, applied to set aside an anonymity order granted at the start of a previous trial to protect the identities of witnesses accused of physically and sexually abusing her in foster care.
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