The High Court made no order as to costs in a judicial review case brought after a man was refused leave to land in Ireland and detained. The court said his release followed contact from the Portuguese Embassy, rather than the legal proceedings.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Richard Humphreys on 9 March 2020, dealt only with costs. The applicant had sought to quash the refusal of leave to land. The court had granted an interim injunction preventing his removal, but never granted leave for the judicial review to proceed. The applicant later indicated he might seek damages, but did not pursue that application.
The applicant was a Portuguese citizen who arrived from Spain on 2 December 2019 using a Brazilian passport. He was refused leave to land under section 4(3)(k) of the Immigration Act 2004 and detained under section 5 of the Immigration Act 2003.
There was a dispute about what he told a Garda at the border. Because neither side sought cross-examination, the judge said he could not make a definitive finding about what happened. He said the applicant’s account could not be accepted where it differed from the Garda’s evidence.
The Garda said the applicant had €900 in cash, that the card used to book his accommodation had been declined, and that the applicant initially said he knew nobody in Ireland. The Garda also said the applicant’s brother was in Ireland and that messages on the applicant’s phone appeared to coach him on what to say. The refusal was based on a suspicion that the purpose of the proposed entry differed from the purpose stated.
After proceedings began, the applicant’s brother contacted the Portuguese Embassy. On 5 December, the Embassy told the State that the applicant held Portuguese nationality through his father. The State agreed to release him on the understanding that he would apply for a Portuguese identity card. He was released later that day. The Embassy confirmed by email the following day that an identity card application had been made.
The judge concluded there was no real or adequate link between the proceedings and the release: the State acted after receiving the Embassy’s call. He said a claim of EU citizenship at the border, without appropriate travel documentation, did not require immigration officials to investigate the claim with an embassy. The applicant could have obtained a Portuguese identity card before travelling, the judge said.
The injunction had allowed time for supporting information to be produced, but did not itself establish an entitlement to costs. The court ordered no costs for either side, including no order on the reserved costs.