The Council of Europe adopts guide on immigration detention with the support and consultation of Professor Ledi Bianku and our Annahita Moradi

5 Jun 2023

30 May – 1 June 2023, Strasbourg: The Council of Europe’s ‘European Committee on Legal Cooperation’ has adopted a guide on the existing international law standards concerning the material conditions of immigration detention, with the support of Professor Bianku and Annahita Moradi as experts and consultants.

This Guide aims to protect and promote the human rights of those detained under immigration powers in the jurisdictions of all 46 Member States, and to provide practical guidance to their national authorities and those working with persons held on these critical legal issues.

This Guide has been drafted with a particular focus on the European Court of Human Rights’ caselaw on Articles 2 – 6, 9 and 14 in immigration detention cases. This includes Member States’ obligations in cases involving issues of alternatives to detention, length of detention, reception, suitability of detention facility, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery, adults at risk, minors, healthcare, disciplinary measures, solitary confinement, religious and non-religious beliefs, and general conditions (subsistence, privacy, sleeping conditions, lighting and recreational activities).

In May 2023, Professor Bianku and Annahita Moradi presented and defended the guide before the European Committee on Legal Cooperation. This included representatives of all 46 Council of Europe’s Member State and other committees including the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). In doing so, they addressed key caselaw from the Court, and EU and international law.

The guide was adopted by the Council of Europe on 31 May 2023. For more information and for a copy of the guide when published, see here: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cdcj/-/100th-plenary-meeting-of-the-cdcj-main-outcomes

Annahita is a member of One Pump Court and available for instruction in claims arising from immigration detention: https://www.onepumpcourt.co.uk/barrister/annahita-moradi/

Professor Ledi Bianku presided as a Judge at the European Court of Human Rights and is an associate member of Doughty Street Chambers: https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/barristers/professor-ledi-bianku-associate

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