Bancoult, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2): Admn 11 May 2006

The claimant on behalf of himself and other islanders sought a declaration that the 2004 Order was unlawful. The islands had been emptied of people in 1973 and before in order to allow use of the islands as military bases. He had enjoyed a right to return to the British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Islands) which was removed by the order, thus exiling them. The respondent had said that it was their intention to secure the return of the applicant to the islands.
Held: The immigration order created an offence to return to the islands without a permit, and it was clear that no permits would be issued. The test of irrationality was to be judged as regards the interests of the islanders. By that standard: section 9 of the Order was irrational on public law grounds and must be quashed for this reason.
Hooper, Cresswell LJJ
[2006] EWHC 1038 (Admin), Times 23-May-2006, [2006] ACD 81
Bailii
British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004, British Indian Ocean Territory (Immigration) Order 2004
England and Wales
Citing:
See AlsoRegina v Secretary of State for Home Department ex parte Bancoult Admn 3-Mar-1999
Application for leave to appeal granted. . .
See AlsoRegina v Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Another, ex parte Bancoult Admn 3-Nov-2000
The applicant sought judicial review of an ordinance made by the commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory. An issue was raised whether the High Court in London had jurisdiction to entertain the proceedings and grant relief.
Held: . .
CitedCampbell v Hall 1774
The appellant argued that, since the Crown had had no power to make laws for the colony of Ceylon which offended against fundamental principles, at independence it could not hand over to Ceylon a higher power than it possessed itself.
Held: . .
CitedRegina v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs ex parte Quark Fishing Limited HL 13-Oct-2005
The applicant had previously received licences to fish for Patagonian Toothfish off South Georgia. The defendant had instructed the issuer of the licence in such a way that it was not renewed. It now had to establish that its article 1 rights had . .
CitedTrustees Executors and Agency Co Ltd v Federal Comr of Taxation 1933
(High Court of Australia) The court considered the power to create laws for the colonies: ‘The correct general principle is . . whether the law in question can be truly described as being for the peace, order and good government of the Dominion . .
CitedZabrovsky v The General Officer Commanding Palestine PC 4-Dec-1946
Mr Zabrovsky’s son, Arie Ben Eliezer, a Palestinian citizen, was detained under emergency powers regulations. He was issued with an order requiring him to leave Palestine. He was then transported to a military detention camp in Eritrea. At the time, . .
CitedCouncil of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service HL 22-Nov-1984
Exercise of Prerogative Power is Reviewable
The House considered an executive decision made pursuant to powers conferred by a prerogative order. The Minister had ordered employees at GCHQ not to be members of trades unions.
Held: The exercise of a prerogative power of a public nature . .
CitedCo-operative Committee on Japanese Canadians v Attorney General for Canada PC 1947
Orders in Council were made by the Governor in Canada under the authority of The War Measures Act. One authorised the Minister of Labour to make orders for the deportation to Japan of a specified group of persons aged 16 or over who were resident in . .
CitedAssociated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v Wednesbury Corporation CA 10-Nov-1947
Administrative Discretion to be Used Reasonably
The applicant challenged the manner of decision making as to the conditions which had been attached to its licence to open the cinema on Sundays. It had not been allowed to admit children under 15 years of age. The statute provided no appeal . .

Cited by:
Appeal fromSecretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs v Bancoult, Regina (on the Application of) CA 23-May-2007
The claimant was a Chagos Islander removed in 1970 to make way for a US airbase. The court had ordered that the islanders be allowed to return, but the appellant had passed an Order in Council effectively reversing the position, and now appealed a . .
At first instanceBancoult, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2) HL 22-Oct-2008
The claimants challenged the 2004 Order which prevented their return to their homes on the Chagos Islands. The islanders had been taken off the island to leave it for use as a US airbase. In 2004, the island was no longer needed, and payment had . .
Appeal fromChagos Islanders v Attorney-General and Another CA 22-Jul-2004
The claimants sought leave to appeal against a finding that they had no cause of action for their expulsion from their islands.
Held: ‘Exile without colour of law is forbidden by Magna Carta. That it can amount to a public law wrong is already . .
See AlsoBancoult, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Admn 25-Jul-2012
The claimant sought in advance permission to cross examine two civil servants at a forthcoming judicial review. Documents had been leaked and widely published suggesting that the decision now to be challenged had been taken for improper purposes. . .
See AlsoBancoult, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Admn 21-Nov-2012
Reasons for decision allowing re-amendment of claim and requiring production of documents by a non-party. . .
See AlsoBancoult, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Admn 11-Jun-2013
The claimant, displaced from the Chagos Archipelago, challenged a decision by the respondent to create a no-take Marine Protected Area arround the island which would make life there impossible if he and others returned. The respondent renewed his . .
See AlsoBancoult, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs CA 23-May-2014
The appellant wished to challenge the decision made by the respondent to declare a ‘no-take’ Marine Protected Area’ covering their former home islands of Chagos. They sought to have entered in evidence of an improper motive in the Minister making . .
CitedBarclay and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Justice and Others SC 22-Oct-2014
Constitutional Status of Chanel Islands considered
The Court was asked as to the role, if any, of the courts of England and Wales (including the Supreme Court) in the legislative process of one of the Channel Islands. It raised fundamental questions about the constitutional relationship between the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 07 August 2021; Ref: scu.241651