A Practical Guide to Claims for Unlawful Detention and False Imprisonment in Immigration and Asylum Cases

The terms “unlawful detention” and “false imprisonment” are often used interchangeably. Unlawful detention is commonly used to determine, in the context of immigration cases, whether the Secretary of State has acted without valid legal authority to detain an individual. However, false imprisonment refers to a situation under common law, which gives rise to a civil claim for damages. It is a strict liability tort and no demonstrable loss is needed to establish this. For the purposes of this guide the term unlawful detention will be used more generally. This guide will explore the mechanics of bail and where bail is refused, how to secure through judicial review if there has been an assessment that detention may be unlawful. In addition, where there is historic period of detention, this guide will look at how best to start a civil claim in the civil courts. This guide will also help practitioners to navigate through the law and policies on detention and the important common law principles that have developed over time, to limit detention. These are now known as ‘Hardial Singh principles’. It hopes to provide some clarity on how to make an assessment as to the level of damages available and whether such a claim should be pursued if only ‘nominal damages’ are available. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Samina Iqbal is a senior public law and immigration practitioner with over 20 years’ experience, who also has a background in family law. Samina was also first appointed as a Fee-Paid Judge in the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in 2006 and has subsequently been appointed to the Social Entitlement Chamber in 2018 and in 2017, as an Environment and Traffic Adjudicator. Samina has an extensive public law practice, with a particular expertise in immigration, nationality and asylum law. Samina is committed to levelling the playing field throughout all echelons of society, intent on assisting vulnerable members who slip through the endemic and systemic cracks prevalent within our infrastructure, she is expanding her practice to include those who require assistance under community care law, equality and discrimination law, social welfare, mental health and capacity law. More recently, Samina’s growing specialism has been in challenges to unlawful detention, crossing over with claims for damages in the civil courts. Her expertise and vast experience in this area means she is often considered by her instructing solicitors as the “go-to” person for such cases. She has also delivered extensive training seminars and webinars in this areas of the law. CONTENTS Overview Chapter 1 – Statutory Framework on Detention Chapter 2 – Limits on Detention Chapter 3 – Home Office Policies and Rules Chapter 4 – Medical Assessments in Detention Chapter 5 – Bail Chapter 6 – Judicial Review – Unlawful Detention Chapter 7 – Civil Claims for False Imprisonment Chapter 8 – Damages Appendix – Table of Cases Relating to Quantum