Rishi Sunak’s plan to ignore legal rulings blocking deportation flights to Rwanda would break international law, according to the head of the European Court of Human Rights.
Síofra O’Leary, president of the ECHR, said the UK has a “clear legal obligations” to comply with its judgments.
The prime minister has said he will not let a “foreign court” stop flights taking asylum seekers to Rwanda off the ground.
In June 2022, the first planned flight was grounded after the ECHR handed down a so-called “rule 39” order blocking it.
Since then, the Supreme Court has also ruled that the Rwanda policy is illegal.
Sunak wants parliament to pass his Safety of Rwanda Bill, which he says will give ministers the power to ignore rule 39 orders and allow flights to take off.
But at a press conference in Strasbourg this morning, O’Leary said: “There is a clear legal obligation under the convention for states to comply with rule 39 measures. The legal basis for this is principally article 34 of the convention.
“In the past, where states have failed to comply with rule 39 indications, judges have found that the states have violated their obligations under article 34 of the convention.”
Responding to her comments, the PM’s official spokesman said: “We are confident our legislation is compliant with our international obligations.
“We are clear the bill and the treaty address the Supreme Court’s concerns. There should be no need for Strasbourg to intervene to block flights in the way they did in 2022.
“We’ve also drafted the bill to give ministers the power not to comply with those rulings if necessary. The PM has been clear repeatedly that he will not let a foreign court block flights from taking off.”
Asked directly if the government was prepared to defy the ECHR and ignore rule 39 orders, the spokesman said: “Yes.”