Alan Payne QC represented the Secretary of State in lead Divisional Court case challenging the lawfulness of reunification guidance of unaccompanied minors with relatives in the UK

R. (on the application of Safe Passage International) v Secretary of State for the Home Department

Alan Payne QC represented the Secretary of State in lead case before the Divisional Court challenging the lawfulness of guidance relating to reunification of unaccompanied minors with relatives in the United Kingdom.

The Claimant challenged the lawfulness of multiple aspects of the policy guidance issued by the Secretary of State setting out how the Dublin III Regulation 604/2013 (Dublin III) should be applied by case workers to unaccompanied minors seeking to come to the UK. The Court made an order declaring two specific parts of the guidance were unlawful, but otherwise rejected the challenge. In addition, and importantly, the Court declined to require the SSHD to locate and notify children whose applications had been determined by reference to the guidance under challenge of the judgment.