The High Court quashed a deportation order against a Nigerian woman after finding that the Minister had not sufficiently assessed whether her removal would breach the family-life rights of her two half-brothers.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice M. H. Clark on 26 May 2009, followed a judicial review hearing on 12 and 13 May. The applicant challenged the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform’s decision to deport her, arguing that the assessment of her rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights did not adequately consider the impact on her brothers.
The applicant arrived in Ireland as a minor in February 2005 with her two half-brothers. She said their father brought them to Ireland and left them outside the asylum office, after which they entered the care of the Health Service Executive. The judgment records that she had no further contact with either parent. The brothers were later placed in foster care, and the applicant maintained a supportive relationship with them.
The Minister’s file included submissions and letters describing the applicant’s role in her brothers’ lives. The court found that officials and the Minister knew about the relationship and that she supported the boys. The file assessment accepted that deportation might interfere with her own family life, but concluded that the consequences would not be serious enough to engage Article 8.
The applicant’s case was that the assessment had to address the effect on her brothers as well as on her. The respondents argued that the Minister had considered the information available and was not required to set out separately the impact on each family member.
Justice Clark held that the unusual circumstances called for a more specific assessment. The siblings had been young and without parental contact, and the applicant’s relationship with her brothers in Ireland was, on the facts presented, their existing family life. The judge was not satisfied that the file showed that the brothers’ Article 8 rights had received the necessary consideration.
The court did not decide that deportation would itself breach Article 8. It held that the Minister’s assessment was insufficient and granted certiorari quashing the deportation order. The applicant was entitled to the relief sought on that ground.