Corbiere Ltd & Ors v Secretary of State for Justice & Ors

Interim relief may be granted in a judicial review concerning the timing of deportation where the claim raises serious issues to be tried and the balance of convenience favours preserving the position pending an expedited hearing. The court must weigh the public interest in deporting a foreign criminal against the legitimate public interest in protecting third parties from a risk of further criminal conduct. A short stay may be justified where deportation could render the proceedings academic or undermine effective determination of whether a decision was lawful.

The claimants challenged the refusal to recall an interested party to prison and the subsequent decision to deport him. They alleged that his conduct while subject to licence and a serious crime prevention order justified his recall and that deportation before the expiry of his original sentence would be unlawful.

The immediate applications concerned an expedited rolled-up judicial review hearing and interim relief preventing deportation until that hearing or further order. The court also considered the appropriate costs order.

1. The court was satisfied that the claim raised serious issues to be tried concerning the timing of deportation, having regard to the public interests engaged. It was also arguable that, if the refusal to recall had been legally flawed, no lawful decision had been made on whether the interested party should serve the remainder of his original sentence.
2. The balance of convenience favoured interim relief. The further serious crime prevention order was at least arguably evidence of a real and significant risk of serious crime if the interested party left the United Kingdom. The public interest in protecting third parties from criminal conduct had to be balanced against the public interest in deporting a criminal.
3. An expedited rolled-up hearing was capable of being accommodated within the proposed timetable. A short stay of deportation was therefore warranted so that the judicial review could be determined before the proposed deportation made the claim academic.
4. The court ordered an expedited rolled-up hearing, stayed deportation for the relevant short period, and directed that costs be in the case.