We in Telegram
Add news
March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024
1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
News Every Day |

Parliament passes bill declaring Rwanda safe – but can it really be called a law at all?

Ryan Ng/Shutterstock

After months of deadlock, the House of Lords withdrew its opposition to the safety of Rwanda (asylum and immigration) bill, meaning that it will become law upon receiving royal assent. This legislation declares in UK law that Rwanda is a safe country for the UK to send asylum seekers.

Much has been written about the Rwanda plan’s practical (un)workability, high cost and its perceived cruelty. But one thing we have overlooked is a conceptual question: are there problems with this law that mean it’s not a real law at all?

You may be reading this and thinking: “It’s been passed by parliament, of course it’s a law!” If so, then you’re adopting what is known in legal theory as legal positivism. This is the belief that if a rule has been properly passed (or “posited”, hence the name) by a lawmaking authority, then it’s a valid law.

It’s fair to say that this is probably the dominant position in Anglo-American legal theory – so much so that many people adopt it without even realising they’re doing so. But though it might be dominant, it’s not the only approach we could take.

An alternative was offered by influential American legal theorist Lon Fuller who thought that law was more than this and, like all good teachers, he used a story to explain why.

In his 1964 book The Morality of Law, Fuller invited his readers to imagine a lawmaker, King Rex, who set about to reform the legal system in his kingdom. Rex failed, but in the process, he came to realise that laws must possess eight desirable features:

  1. they must be generalisable

  2. they must be publicly available

  3. they shouldn’t be retroactive

  4. they should be written in language people can understand

  5. they cannot contradict other laws

  6. they cannot require you to do the impossible

  7. they must be stable through time, and

  8. when it is applied, the law must be reflect what was passed by the legislator.

Fuller tells us that this is because the whole point of law is to provide a reason for us to behave in a certain way, or to do (or refrain from doing) a certain thing. Because of this, a law that is impossible to follow cannot be a law. Fuller says that each of these qualities are, to a greater or lesser extent, necessary for us to be able to follow the law.

You could make a similar observation about cars. The purpose of a car is to get us from A to B, so is a car without wheels really a car? It might look like a car. It might smell like a car. If you ask someone, they may even begrudgingly tell you that it’s a car, but a really defective one.

Well, Fuller believed the same was true of law. If a rule can’t be complied with, then at best it’s defective and not a good example of what a law should look like – and at worst, it might not be law at all.

Does the safety of Rwanda bill pass the test?

The Safety of Rwanda bill’s purpose is clear: to direct the home secretary, immigration officers, courts and tribunals to hold that Rwanda is a safe country for the purposes of fulfilling the UK’s domestic and international asylum obligations. This is a direct response to the UK Supreme Court’s decision in November 2023 which held that the facts on the ground in Rwanda meant that they could not declare it a safe country.

When it becomes law, this bill would direct courts to ignore this evidence in future cases and declare Rwanda safe regardless. This purpose falls foul of several of Fuller’s criteria. There are issues here around both retroactivity and stability through time – would asylum seekers whose cases are already in the system be affected by this new law, even though it was not in force when they initially sought asylum?

There is an issue around contradicting other legal rules, as Lord Reed held in November that his decision to declare the policy unlawful was grounded in principles of domestic law. Simply ignoring these, as the bill requires decision makers to do, does not make them go away.

Perhaps most worryingly, there is an issue around requiring the impossible in that Rwanda has been found not to be a safe country for asylum seekers. You might reply (as the government has done) that parliament is sovereign and can declare otherwise if wants to.

But parliamentary sovereignty does not empower parliament to alter reality to suit its ends, and that is what this bill does. Like asking us to believe that 2+2=5 (something I hope we would raise an eyebrow at if parliament pursued), it requires all decision makers to ignore documented fact and give legal priority to a fiction.

According to Fuller’s account then, this legislation is like a car with no wheels. It might superficially resemble a law in that it was passed by parliament, but if you look closely you can see there are significant issues around how it is supposed to guide our conduct. At best, it is a highly defective law and one that needs serious rethinking in order to give us good reason to accept its requirements.

The Conversation

Joshua Jowitt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

WTA

Андреева обыграла Паолини и вышла в 1/4 финала турнира WTA в Мадриде

Online Alarm Clock for efficient time management

Tom Aspinall says UFC 304 start time is ‘awful’ and should be changed as Brit provides update on next opponent

13 Crops You'd Be INSANE Not To Plant in May

5 Things To Remember When A Friendship Ends

Ria.city






Read also

Appeals court hears Kari Lake election case, has to remind her lawyer how appeals work

How first-time CEOs can conquer the 5 types of imposter syndrome

Charlotte shootout: 4 slain officers serving warrant had 'great disadvantage,' expert says

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

13 Crops You'd Be INSANE Not To Plant in May

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

5 Things To Remember When A Friendship Ends



Sports today


Новости тенниса
Даниил Медведев

Медведев сыграет с Бубликом в Мадриде 



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Жулин заявил, что ему нужен миллион рублей для комфортной жизни в Москве



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Росгвардейцы обеспечили безопасность во время футбольного матча в Москве


Новости России

Game News

Star Wars: Hunters выпустят по всему миру в начале июня


Russian.city


Новости 24 часа

6 городов России, где можно увидеть белые ночи кроме Санкт-Петербурга


Губернаторы России
Бато Багдаев

Россия и Дети: театр кукол Ульгэр в Бурятии покажет концерт-представление "Вальс Победы"


Героическое участие армян в СВО. Часть третья

О новых правилах регистрации авто и утилизационном сборе

Магнитная буря 2 мая может спровоцировать северное сияние в Москве

Глава городского округа Домодедово Михаил Ежокин ушел в отставку


Выпускники БРХК вновь выступят на одной сцене

Концерт дома детского творчества

«Коноплянка» гнездится в России // Московский «Кристалл» начнет выпуск белорусской водки

В театре Эстрады состоялся финальный показ музыкально-драматического спектакля «Дом окнами в поле»


Елена Рыбакина выступила с критикой в адрес WTA

Чех Легечка пожелал здоровья россиянину Медведеву, который снялся с их матча

Российский бизнесмен обвинил Алькараса в договорных матчах. Он направил письмо в ATP

Касаткина проиграла Путинцевой и не смогла выйти в 1/4 финала турнира WTA в Мадриде



Работники СЛД «Узловая» филиала «Московский» ООО «ЛокоТех-Сервис» приняли участие региональном этапе «Время молодых. Работники»

Магнитная буря 2 мая может спровоцировать северное сияние в Москве

Продвижение новых песен с высоким результатом

СЛД «Смоленск» филиала «Московский» ООО «ЛокоТех-Сервис» в рамках акции «Неделя без турникетов» посетило 150 учащихся


В России после переизбрания Путина началась широкомасштабная зачистка чиновников. Аресты идут один за другим

Третья по силе магнитная буря за 2024 год началась в России

В СКА рассказали, почему не стали продолжать сотрудничество со «СКА-Карелией» в МХЛ

Цирковая артистка Бурятии Аригма Цыремпилова - девочка-каучук (Россия, Культура, Театр и Дети)


В Рузском округе изменена схема движения транспорта

Минэкологии оштрафовало предприятие в Рузе за незаконное размещение отходов

Льготы льготами, но эти четыре налога в 2024 году пенсионеры обязаны заплатить обязательно

В кино с Like FM – на мелодраму «Идеальная зависимость»



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Сергей Брановицкий

Консультации. Составление Договоров. Присутствие Продюсера при заключении договоров и переговорах. Лекции. Переговоры. Встречи и Обсуждения.



News Every Day

Tom Aspinall says UFC 304 start time is ‘awful’ and should be changed as Brit provides update on next opponent




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости