A victory for basic rights

This article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald 12 November 2010

The validity of Australia's offshore processing of asylum seekers has been thrown into doubt after a court found fundamental errors of law in the system.

The High Court yesterday decided a case concerning two Sri Lankan asylum seekers who had been refused permission to ask for a protection visa. In a unanimous decision, the court held that the asylum seekers were entitled to procedural fairness.

The case, brought by the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, arose this way. In recent times, a number of asylum seekers have arrived by boat at Christmas Island, which is part of Australia but a long way from the mainland. Christmas Island was excised from the migration zone under the Pacific Solution legislation in 2001. When asylum seekers arrive in a part of Australia that has been excised from the migration zone, they are classified as "offshore entry" people.