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The Court of Appeal has today given judgment in case concerning the proper scope of the writ of habeas corpus and the (in)appropriateness of its use to challenge conditions attached to immigration bail. The Appellant (CHK) was a Brazilian national convicted of serious criminal offences and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in 2012. Having completed the custodial part of his sentence the Appellant was detained pending deportation but then released on immigration bail. At the time of his application for habeas corpus he was living in the community but subject to various reporting conditions which he contended amounted to a restriction on his liberty that justified the use of the habeas corpus procedure. Despite recognising the constitutional importance of the writ (reflected inter alia in the fact that there is no requirement for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal or indeed the Supremee Court in habeas corpus cases), the Court of Appeal nevertheless rejected the Appellant’s attempt to use the writ to challenge his bail conditions in circumstances where he was not detained.
Michael Armitage acted for the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the Court of Appeal proceedings, instructed by the Government Legal Department.