High Court of Australia – Mr Moti claimed that he had been deported by officials of the Solomon Islands Government from the Solomon Islands to Australia, where he was wanted for trial. The deportation occurred after the High Commissioner had issued a travel document for Mr Moti and visas for the Solomon Islands officials who were to accompany him on the aircraft bound for Australia, knowing that Solomon Islands law was going to be breached by deporting Mr Moti on the same day without giving him a seven-day opportunity to challenge deportation.
Held: There was no ‘general and universally applicable rule that Australian courts may not be required (or do not have or may not exercise jurisdiction) to form a view about the lawfulness of conduct that occurred outside Australia by reference to foreign law’
‘Here, the question of the lawfulness of the appellant’s removal from Solomon Islands, although effected by the Solomon Islands Government, was ‘a preliminary’ to the decision whether a stay should be granted. The primary judge was not right to conclude that ‘[i]t is not for this court to express an opinion on these decisions made by the Solomon Islands government’.’
Citations:
(2011) 245 CLR 456, (2011) 283 ALR 393, (2011) 86 ALJR 117, (2011) 218 A Crim R 204, [2011] HCA 50
Jurisdiction:
Australia
Cited by:
Cited – Belhaj and Another v Straw and Others SC 17-Jan-2017
The claimant alleged complicity by the defendant, (now former) Foreign Secretary, in his mistreatment by the US while held in Libya. He also alleged involvement in his unlawful abduction and removal to Libya, from which had had fled for political . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Constitutional
Updated: 14 June 2022; Ref: scu.634787