Just after 1.37 am on 10 September, ZH Law secured an order from the Court of Appeal halting a removal to Dominica that was due to happen later that same day. We got there by exhausting every avenue open to us, being refused at the first, and taking the case out of hours to the judges who could still act in time. Here is what we did — and why the fight didn’t end there.
What was going on?
Our client had a Judicial Review challenge still running against the Home Office’s decision. There were also outstanding further submissions asking the Home Office to look at the case again, under a rule known as paragraph 353.
We took the case to the Administrative Court and applied for the removal to be paused while that separate request was decided. The judge refused. The reasoning was that an answer on the request was expected very soon, so it made sense to wait for it rather than intervene immediately.
The answer did come that same afternoon. But by then, there was no time left to go back to court and ask for help before the removal happened, so we didn’t wait to find out. We built the case to go further.
Taking the case to the Court of Appeal, out of hours
With the Administrative Court route refused and the clock running out, we took the case to the Court of Appeal, out of hours. This is not the usual route, and it does not happen because a court decides to get involved, it happens because a legal team puts together the papers, the argument and the evidence fast enough to get in front of a judge who can still act before it’s too late. That is what we did.
What we secured
We persuaded the Court of Appeal that the High Court had got something wrong, and secured permission for that decision to be properly challenged. This is called “permission to appeal.” It does not decide the main case. It is the court agreeing, on our argument, that the point is worth a proper look.
Alongside that, we secured an order pausing the removal. In simpler terms, we obtained a ruling that:
The removal planned for 10 September was cancelled, for now.
Removal is on hold for 7 days, or until the Judicial Review is decided, whichever happens first.
The Home Office must tell everyone involved- immigration officers, the removal centre, and anyone else that the removal is on hold.
We didn’t stop at the order
Winning the order was not the end of the work. An order stopping a removal only protects a client once everyone involved in carrying it out has actually stood down, and that does not happen automatically. In the morning, we chased confirmation, reaching the right people at the Home Office, at the removal centre, and in writing, and kept pressing until we had it. We treated the order as the start of the next phase, not the finish line. Our client was taken to the airport to be deported despite the order of the Court of Appeal, and we fought hard to ensure that the Court’s order was implemented.
The fight continues
Stopping the removal was one part of this case. Our client remains in immigration detention, and we are now pressing the Home Office for his release while the Judicial Review continues. A pending legal challenge and a court order halting removal do not, by themselves, secure release; that is a separate fight, and one we are in the middle of.
What does it take to get a court to act like this?
Getting a court to step in when someone is about to be removed while a legal challenge is still open does not happen because the situation is urgent; it happens because a team makes it happen. It takes acting fast, exhausting the right steps first, and having the papers, the evidence, and the argument ready to put in front of a judge at 1 am if that’s what it takes. That is what we did here.
The team on this matter
Counsel Mr Zainul Jafferji drafted the JR and Interim Relief application and grounds, and Mr Sheraaz Hingora handled the out-of-hours hearing at the Court of Appeal. Paralegals Mufaddal Borhany, Nina Blythe and Zainulabedyn Bhinderwala worked on the case throughout, including through the weekend, to get everything ready in time.
If a removal date is still in place despite an open Judicial Review or a pending request to the Home Office, time matters more than anything else. Contact us as early as you can, so we can tell you clearly where things stand.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, please contact ZH Law.
