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The Supreme Court allowed appeals by asylum seekers and refugees who were resisting their return from the UK to Italy in reliance on Article 3 ECHR (inhuman and degrading treatment).  The appeals raised an important issue of principle as to the relationship between EU law and the ECHR in the context of the common European asylum system. The Court of Appeal had concluded that it was bound by EU law to hold that even if an asylum seeker was able to establish that he was at real risk of being treated incompatibly with Article 3 in the country to which he was to be returned, this would not prevent his return, unless the risk arose from “systemic deficiencies” in that country.  This conclusion was unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court.  The Court re-affirmed the well-established test set out in Soering v UK, observing that “It is self-evident that a violation of Article 3 rights is not intrinsically dependent on the failure of a system.”

Four of the Appellants were represented by teams led by Monica Carss-Frisk QC.
The UNHCR, appearing as Intervener, was represented by Michael Fordham QC.

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