8 September 2019
Lawfulness of Detention of Declared Foreigners in Assam under International Law [ PDF ]
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1. Context .................................................................................................................................... 3
1.2. Purpose .................................................................................................................................... 4
Applicable Law ................................................................................................................................. 6
2.1. Domestic Law .......................................................................................................................... 6
2.2. International Law .................................................................................................................... 6
Inappropriateness of Administrative Detention ............................................................................. 7
3.1. Domestically lawful detention ................................................................................................ 7
3.2. Preventive detention for immigrants as a mandatory rule ..................................................... 8
3.3. Proportionality of detention considering low likelihood of deportations .............................. 9
3.4. Location of Detention Centres .............................................................................................. 10
3.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 10
Category III: Fair Trial Issues .......................................................................................................... 11
4.1. Overview of Fair Trial Laws.................................................................................................... 11
4.2. Foreigners Tribunals .............................................................................................................. 12
4.3. Legality and Independence ................................................................................................... 13
4.4. No Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice ....................................................................... 16
4.5. Reversed Burden of Proof ..................................................................................................... 17
4.6. Lack of Predictability ............................................................................................................. 17
4.7. Prevalence of Ex-parte Proceedings ...................................................................................... 18
4.8. Extraordinary Laws ................................................................................................................ 20
4.9. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 21
Category IV: Review of Lawfulness of Detention .......................................................................... 21
5.1. Review of Detention .............................................................................................................. 21
5.2. Conditional Release ............................................................................................................... 23
5.3. Appeals against Decision of Foreigners Tribunal .................................................................. 23
5.4. Interventions by the Supreme Court ..................................................................................... 24
5.5. End of a Flawed Process – And the Beginning of Another .................................................... 25
5.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 25
6. Category V: Discrimination ............................................................................................................ 25
7. Recommendations and Best Practices .......................................................................................... 26
7.1. Preventing Statelessness ....................................................................................................... 26
7.2. Best Practice #1: Canada ....................................................................................................... 28
7.3. Best Practice #2: Kyrgyzstan .................................................................................................. 34
7.4. Best Practice #3: Germany .................................................................................................... 38
7.5 Best Practice #4: India ........................................................................................................... 42
8. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 46