At the end of last week, I joined an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration delegation to Strasbourg to meet with senior officials from the Council of Europe and European Court of Human Rights.
Over two days we met with Council of Europe officials, the Commissioner for Human Rights' team, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, anti-trafficking experts, the President of the ECtHR, the UK's judge at the Court and senior Court Registry lawyers.
Around 1.5-2% of the Court's caseload relates to immigration, and it was noted the Court had only overruled the UK on one migration case in the last decade. At the same time, member states including the UK have raised legitimate concerns about how the Court interprets key provisions, particularly Article 3 on inhuman and degrading treatment and Article 8 on family life. These are now being addressed through a political declaration to be adopted in May 2026. Officials acknowledged the concerns but also argued that some of the friction comes from how national courts interpret Strasbourg rulings rather than the rulings themselves.
On practical matters, we examined immigration detention standards and heard a recommendation that the Home Office and Ministry of Justice coordinate better on planning for foreign offenders nearing the end of prison sentences. We discussed how trafficking victims are identified within asylum and enforcement settings. We also received a briefing on how emergency injunctions to prevent removal operate in practice, including the thresholds applied and the information governments must provide.
The visit was useful in understanding both the workings of the system and the reform discussions underway. The findings will inform ongoing parliamentary scrutiny of asylum policy, detention standards and removal procedures.
