Deportation with assurances

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Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) renders deportation unlawful where there are substantial grounds for believing that an individual will face a real risk of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on return (the principle was established first in relation to extradition; Soering v UK [1989] ECHR 14038/88). The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that assurances provided by the government of the receiving country can in principle remove a real risk of ill-treatment but that their adequacy must be considered on a case by case basis (Saadi v Italy [2008] ECHR 37201/06).

With Art 3 of the Convention in mind, the UK government has agreed procedures for seeking assurances (in most cases Memoranda of Understanding) with Algeria, Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon and Libya in respect of the treatment of certain persons (primarily those to be deported on national security grounds, who are