Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory v VT & Ors
[2025] BIOT CA Civ 1
16 Dec 2025
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The Court of Appeal of the British Indian Ocean Territory has handed down judgment in a claim for unlawful detention brought on behalf of a group of migrants stranded on the island of Diego Garcia for more than three years.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the Commissioner’s appeal on all grounds, holding that the Claimants had no viable option to leave Diego Garcia. They were indigent and penniless and had no means of arranging transport and nowhere to go. The Court of Appeal also dismissed the Commissioner’s reliance on the common law principle of necessity, holding that this principle could not justify the Claimants’ prolonged detention by executive fiat over a period of years (§103). The Court further held that the Hardial Singh principles were fundamental to the common law, with the consequence that it was unlawful for the Commissioner to detain individuals with outstanding claims to international protection for an objectively unreasonable period (§124).
The judgment is available here.
Tim Otty KC, Ben Jaffey KC and Natasha Simonsen acted for six of the Claimants, instructed by Leigh Day.
