NZYQ, Liberty and the Future of Indefinite Detention
On 2 May 2024, The Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies and the MLS Human Rights Program at Melbourne Law School hosted a seminar chaired by Professor John Tobin, and presented by Professor Adrienne Stone, Professor Michelle Foster and Sanmati Verma.
In November 2023 the High CouNZYQ, Liberty and the Future of Indefinite Detentionrt of Australia ordered the immediate release of the stateless refugee, known as ‘NZYQ’, from immigration detention. The decision in NZYQ is highly significant, overturning almost twenty years of legal precedent established in 2004 in the case of Al-Kateb v Goodwin. The High Court unanimously found that because there was ‘no real prospect’ of his removal from Australia ‘becoming practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future’, his detention was no longer valid pursuant to Ch III of the Australian Constitution. The Commonwealth government's response was swift, with the rapid passage of the Migration Amendment (Bridging Visa Conditions and Other Measures) Act 2023 and further legislative amendments on the agenda.
About the panel
Professor John Tobin holds the Francine V McNiff Chair in International Human Rights Law in the Melbourne Law School and Director of the MLS Human Rights Program. His research interests cover the broad field of international human rights law but he has a particular interest in children's rights and the right to health.
Adrienne Stone is a Melbourne Laureate Professor and Director of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies. She researches in the areas of constitutional law and constitutional theory, freedom of expression and academic freedom and has taught constitutional law at Melbourne Law School since 2007.
Michelle Foster is a Professor and Director of the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at Melbourne Law School. She teaches Refugee Law and International Refugee Law. Her research areas are refugee law, human rights and statelessness.
Sanmati Verma is Acting Legal Director of the Human Rights Law Centre and leads the Centre’s work on migrant and refugee rights. She is an accredited specialist in immigration law and has practiced in the area for over a decade. Sanmati is an adviser to the United Workers Union, serves on the board of the Migrant Workers Centre and is deputy chair of the national Visa Cancellation Working Group. Her work has been recognised through the Law Institute of Victoria ‘Emerging Lawyer’ award (2016) and the International Commission of Jurists John Gibson award (2022) for contribution to refugee law and advocacy.