The High Court quashed deportation orders against a mother and her minor daughter and refused the Minister for Justice and Equality’s request to stay those orders. It also awarded the applicants costs for the High Court proceedings, while making no order as to costs for the proceedings concerning the Chenchooliah reference.
Mr Justice Max Barrett delivered the judgment on 13 October 2020. The court had already decided, in a judgment dated 22 July 2020, that the deportation orders should be quashed. This judgment dealt with costs and whether the orders should be stayed.
The Minister conceded that Ms MH had won overall but argued that the State should recover the additional costs associated with the Chenchooliah issue. The judge said the court had considered awaiting the European-level decision after the judge raised its possible relevance and State counsel said it could affect the case. The applicants agreed to wait. Since the issue ultimately did not affect the case and the court considered that no one was to blame for waiting, it made no costs order for that part of the proceedings.
The Minister said it intended to ask the Supreme Court to hear an appeal. The High Court noted that the Minister had no right of appeal at that stage, though the Supreme Court might allow one. It refused to stay its orders, citing the particular circumstances, including what it described as the applicants’ needless suffering while awaiting a decision. The judge said the respondent had possessed the information needed to make that decision for 18 months before it issued.
The court ordered certiorari quashing the deportation orders and awarded Ms MH and her daughter costs for the judicial review and the unsuccessful application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The costs order excluded the Chenchooliah portion. The judgment addressed the High Court’s orders; it did not determine whether the Supreme Court would hear a further appeal.