The Court of Appeal has refused an injunction to stop the planned deportation of J.A., identified in the judgment as being from Cameroon, while he appeals rulings on the legality of his detention.
In a judgment delivered on 26 October 2017, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan said the appeal raised weighty and important constitutional issues and met the arguability threshold for an injunction application. But he concluded that the balance of factors did not justify restraining the deportation, which was scheduled for 29 October.
J.A. had arrived in Ireland in April 2008 and applied for asylum. After that application was refused, a deportation order was made in December 2010. The judgment says he did not challenge the order, failed to present to the Garda National Immigration Bureau in January 2011 and evaded deportation for more than three years.
He later applied to re-enter the international protection process and sought revocation of the deportation order. Those applications were refused. A further protection application made in September 2017 was also refused, although an appeal against that decision had been lodged with the International Protection Appeals Tribunal. Counsel did not argue that the tribunal appeal entitled J.A. to remain in Ireland.
J.A. was arrested on 14 September 2017 under section 5 of the Immigration Act 1999, on the ground that he had not left within the time specified in the deportation order, and was held at Cloverhill Prison. The High Court rejected his constitutional challenge to the arrest and detention powers, found his detention lawful and dismissed his application for release under Article 40.4.2 of the Constitution. It also refused an injunction pending appeal. J.A. appealed those decisions to the Court of Appeal and sought an injunction there.
The Court of Appeal noted that the appeal concerned detention powers and would not determine whether the deportation order was valid. It also recorded that there was no live immigration application before the Minister. Hogan J said J.A., who was represented by a solicitor and counsel, did not need to remain physically in Ireland to pursue the appeal. The court considered it unlikely that deportation would prevent the courts from deciding the legal issues.
The judgment said the State’s interest in implementing the deportation order remained strong, while J.A. had no family ties in Ireland that would weigh in the balance. Delaying deportation risked the statutory deadline expiring on 9 November and creating practical difficulties for future deportations. The respondents had explained and justified their decision to proceed, the judge said.
The court refused the requested order. It did not decide the substantive appeal against the High Court’s detention rulings.