How do courts reconcile protecting family life with immigration control in human rights cases? This book addresses that question through an analysis of 11 UK Supreme Court decisions on immigration and family life, mostly focusing on Article 8 ECHR, the right to respect for family life, and starting with Huang v SSHD in 2007. The analysis is set against a national context that includes the Human Rights Act 1998 and regular controversies over immigration.
The book explains how the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence has developed in recent years, but, particularly in the absence of children, it often still awards little weight to claims by citizens and residents to be joined by family when immigration status is an issue. This reflects governments’ resistance to encroachment on their control over borders. The Supreme Court decisions show that, despite powers conferred by the Human Rights Act, a more nuanced position in domestic law was difficult to articulate and sustain. The book explores the way in which these problems were reflected in the changing language, argumentation, and structure of judgments. These problems revealed judges to be strategic actors drawing on personal and institutional values and responding to the shifting political context.
A more generous reading of Article 8 would be legally coherent but needs wider societal support to be realisable. The book ends with a discussion of how, if such support were present, the jurisprudence could give more weight to the needs of families. It is vital reading for anyone interested in families and immigration, and in the problems and potential of human rights adjudication.
By:
Helena Wray (University of Exeter UK)
Imprint: Hart Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781509902576
ISBN 10: 1509902570
Series: Human Rights Law in Perspective
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 09 February 2023
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
1. Introduction: Family Reunification, Human Rights and Judges I. About the Book II. Chapter Outline III. Family Reunification IV. Human Rights and Family Life V. Judges VI. Methodology 2. Introduction to the UK’s Constitutional, Court and Immigration System I. Introduction II. The UK’s Legal and Constitutional Framework III. The Human Rights Act 1998 IV. Regulating Family Reunification in the UK V. The Immigration Control Framework in the UK VI. Appeals and the Court System VII. Conclusion 3. The European Court of Human Rights: Strait is the Gate I. Introduction II. Why is Family Reunification and Article 8 So Problematic? III. Article 8(1): Family Life IV. Article 8(2) Proportionality 1: Immigration Controls, Positive Obligations and the Margin of Appreciation V. Article 8(2) Proportionality 2: Fair Balance VI. Conclusion 4. Huang: Breathing Life into Article 8 I. Introduction II. The Immigration Battleground III. A Sense of Judicial Purpose IV. The Legal Problem Addressed by Huang V. The Legal Findings in Huang VI. ‘Human Beings are Social Animals’ VII. The Aftermath of Huang VIII. The Signifi cance of Huang and its Limits IX. Conclusion 5. ‘Good News from on High’: The First Post-Huang Phase I. Introduction II. Beoku-Betts: Including All the Family III. Chikwamba: Applying In-Country or Abroad IV. EB (Kosovo): Delay, Proportionality and Reinforcing Huang V. Reflections on the First Phase Decisions VI. Conclusion 6. Still Family First: The Second Post-Huang Phase I. Introduction II. Baiai: The Right to Marry III. Mahad: Third Party Support IV. ZH (Tanzania): The Best Interests of Children V. Quila: Forced Marriage and the Minimum Age for Sponsorship or Entry VI. A Complex Relationship with Article 8 VII. Conclusion 7. The Supreme Court Rolls Back: The Third Post-Huang Phase I. Introduction II. A New Background III. Ali and Bibi: Pre-entry Language Testing 0 IV. MM (Lebanon): The Minimum Income Requirement V. Agyarko: Regularisation and Precariousness VI. Reflections on the Third Phase Decisions VII. Reflections on Huang and the Three Phases VIII. Conclusion 8. A Better Article 8 is Possible I. Introduction II. Why Human Rights? III. Stick or Twist? The Case for Treating Family Reunification as a Positive Obligation IV. Family Life Beyond the ‘Core’ Family V. The Public Interest 1: The ‘General Interest’ and Family Life VI. The Public Interest 2: Immigration Control VII. Precarious Residence and Exceptionality VIII. Sponsors and Citizenship IX. Family Life and Immigration: The New Approach in Practice X. Conclusion 9. Concluding Remarks I. Introduction II. The Impact of Article 8 on Immigration Policy III. The Supreme Court as a Moral and Political Actor IV. A Coherent Legal Interpretation of Article 8 V. Final Words: Making Family Matter
Helena Wray researches and teaches Migration Law at the University of Exeter, UK
