Government may appeal immigration ruling

The Government has not ruled out appealing against a judgment which found there were major loopholes in immigration laws, it emerged today.

A High Court ruling made yesterday by Justice Finlay Geoghegan declared that a section of the Immigration Act which allows gardaí to control the movement of non-nationals was unconstitutional.

The order came as an embarrassment to the Government, which had just hosted an EU conference centred on improving common immigration policy.

In response to the judgment, justice minister Michael McDowell said he would bring in amended legislation but did not rule out the possibility of appealing Justice Geoghegan’s decision in the Supreme Court.

He is awaiting advice from the Attorney General on the matter.

The order was made in relation to the 1999 Immigration Act and the Aliens Order 1946 and will have major implications on the application of immigration control by restricting Garda powers.

It means that gardaí no longer have the powers to search and detain, although they can demand identification and hold someone if it is not produced.

The registration process undertaken by non-nationals entering the country will no longer have a legal basis and gardaí will not have the power to impose certain conditions on legal immigrants arriving in Ireland.

The decision also means that gardaí cannot stop non-nationals they suspect of flouting the expiry date on work visas.

The Garda Immigration Bureau is seeking legal advice on the implications of the judgment.

As a result of her order yesterday, Justice Geoghegan prevented the prosecution of a Chinese man for failing to produce identification and quashed the prosecution of a Latvian woman charged with remaining in the country against the 1946 Aliens order.

Meanwhile, Mr McDowell has been defending proposals to introduce a European Evidence Warrant at a meeting of EU justice ministers in Dublin.