Rethinking Asylum-Seeker Detention at Sea: The Power to Detain Asylum-Seekers at Sea Under the Maritime Powers Act 2013
University of New South Wales Law Journal, Vol. 38, No. 2, 2015
Monash University Faculty of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015/07
43 Pages Posted: 31 May 2015 Last revised: 6 Aug 2015
Date Written: March 5, 2015
Abstract
This article examines the practice of 'push backs' - the forcible return by Australia of asylum seekers on the high seas to their country of departure. This practice was subject to litigation in the Australian High Court when Australian authorities intercepted a boat from India carrying 157 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum-seekers, and detained them on an Australian customs vessel for a period of 29 days in 2014. The detention was carried out whilst the Australian government negotiated with India to receive the asylum-seekers. There was no agreement or informal understanding in place between Australia and India prior to the interception and detention, and in the end the asylum-seekers were brought to the Australian mainland. This was the subject of a High Court judgement which upheld the detention under Australian law and has now been dealt with by substantial amendments to the Maritime Powers Act (Cth) which significantly expand the ability of maritime officers to detain asylum seekers on the high sea without access to due process.
Keywords: refugee law, asylum, asylum seekers, law of the sea, immigration detention
JEL Classification: K10
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation