Bail the Right to Liberty - This briefing by Bail for Immigration Detainees

This page contains all the relevant information on making a bail application and you can download the Home Office Bail application form plus explanatory documents. There is also a fact sheet on Electronic Monitoring (tagging).

   Freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment is a fundamental human right, legally enforceable throughout the UK by virtue of the Human Rights Act 1998.

   However the number of asylum seekers in detention increases steadily. Families/individuals are incarcerated every day by immigration officials under various immigration acts from 1971 to 2002, which supersede UK civil laws.

   Solicitors representing detainees routinely fail to make bail applications for their clients and even when pressed will refuse to make a bail application.

   However, all detainees have the right to make bail and can and should make their own bail applications, if their legal representatives refuse to do so.

   Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), have produced two pamphlets which are aimed at detainees, enabling them to make their own application for bail.

   Using these pamphlets a number of asylum seekers have successfully represented themselves in bail applications.

   Both pamphlets include clear explanations of the bail process and common words and phrases. They offer vital information to detainees and anyone involved in trying to help someone who is detained make bail.

   Both pamphlets 'Preparing Applications for Release' and 'Representing yourself in Bail Applications ', can be downloaded in full as PDF documents Part 1 (English) and Part 1 (French), Part 2 (English), and hard copies can be sent free of charge to any detention centre or prison. Copies of the Notebooks are due to be translated into more languages in the future. Please contact anna@biduk.org for more information about the Outreach project.

   Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) - making bail

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  The law offers you Protection

   When the Immigration Service detains you, it may seem as if the system offers you no protection and bail applications are sometimes frustrating. But there is some protection for you in the law.

   The Right to Liberty is a basic human right.

   The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UNHCR) says that the detention of asylum seekers "is undesirable".

   Presumption in favour of liberty
   The Guidance Notes on Bail for Adjudicators say that the adjudicator should assume you should be free unless the Immigration Service can show that your detention is necessary. This idea is called the presumption in favour of liberty.

   The Home Office wrote guidelines for Immigration Officers telling them what to think about when deciding to detain someone.
Immigration Officers should follow these guidelines, which remind them that there is a presumption in favour of liberty.
Governments do have the power to detain some people, but only if they can show that detention is necessary.

   In the UK, the law gives the Immigration Service the power to detain some people, but bail applications in the Immigration Courts allow you to challenge this detention.

   Even if the Immigration Service has the power to detain you, the Immigration Service must show that your detention is necessary otherwise you must be released.

   To show that your detention is necessary, the Immigration Service must:

· Show that there are "strong grounds for believing you will not comply with conditions of temporary admission or temporary release"12.
·
   Show that there is no alternative to detention

·  Have evidence to show that what they are saying is correct if you challenge what they are saying.

   If the Immigration Service cannot do these things, the adjudicator should release you.

   In your bail application, you need to show that the Immigration Service has weak or no reasons for detaining you.

The main thing that the adjudicator will think about is whether or not he/she believes that you will stay in contact with the authorities if released. If he/she thinks you will stay in contact, he/she should release you.

     If you are detained - You have the Right to Regular Bail Applications
The right to regular bail applications gives you some protection against the Immigration Service's power to detain you.
You can control how often your detention is reviewed by choosing when to make a bail application.

   The Immigration Service must show at every bail application that detention is necessary.
 
   If you are not released at your first bail application, keep making bail applications so that there are regular reviews of the decision to detain you. If bail is refused the first time, it does not mean that it will always be refused in future.
If something changes in your case that you think will make your bail application make a bail application as soon as possible.

   If nothing changes on your case, but you have been detained 28 days or more your last bail application, you can make a new bail application. The adjudicator in your new bail application must look at your arguments and decide if it is still right to detain you in the light of the extra time you have spent in detention.

   There is no limit on the number of bail applications that you can make, but there are sometimes reasons to wait between bail applications.

Preparing Applications for Release (Notebook Part 1 - Part 2) - English

http://www.biduk.org/pdf/bail_notebook/notebook_part_1_october_2005.pdf

   Representing yourself in Bail Applications (Notebook Part 2)
   Representing yourself in bail applications (Notebook Part 2) is for people who have already worked through Part 1.
 
http://www.biduk.org/pdf/bail_notebook/notebook_part_2_october_2005.pdf

Bail application form. Bail application.pdf

On page 2 of the Bail application form there is a tick box 'would you like to be considered for electronic monitoring': Electronic monitoring fact sheet.

Notebook Part 1 Part 2 in French.

http://www.biduk.org/pdf/bail_notebook/french_notebook_part_1_october_2005.pdf

http://www.biduk.org/pdf/bail_notebook/french_notebook_part_2_october_2005.pdf

BID believes that people should be represented by legal representatives in bail applications and that there should be enough public funding for representation in regular bail applications. However, we wrote Part 2 because many people in detention can't find a legal representative to make applications for their release. We regret that this Notebook is necessary and emphasise that a legal representative is the best person to prepare and present bail applications for release.

Part 2 covers:
* Deciding when to apply for bail
* Completing the application form
* When and where hearings will be held
* Preparing your arguments for release
* The day of the bail hearing
* Help with your arguments - addressing the reasons for your detention and points in your favour

Source for this page and contact details.

Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID)

Main office: London: for all general queries and detainees (except those at Haslar or Campsfield - see below)
Tel: 020 7247 3590 (please call between 1.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m, Monday to Friday)
Fax: 020 7247 3550

Portsmouth office: for detainees at Haslar
Tel: 023 9229 1916
Fax: 023 9229 1913

Oxford office: for detainees at Campsfield House
Tel: 0845 3304 536 (phones are open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday)
Fax: 0845 3304 537

BID only works with people detained by the UK Immigration Service to advise on bail and release from detention. BID does not deal with any other aspect of the asylum and immigration process. We cannot offer legal advice on general asylum or immigration matters.

Source for this page:
Bail for Immigration Detainees