A court in Belfast has ordered a stay on the Government’s appeal against a ruling that parts of the UK Illegal Migration Act are unlawful.

Senior judges paused the case after being informed that new border laws, which will repeal the previous Conservative administration’s Rwanda plans, would make the legal challenge irrelevant.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan stated, “The right course is to stay this matter given the imponderables that arise in this area.”

In May last year, the High Court ruled that the Act—designed to prevent illegal migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats—should not apply in Northern Ireland.

The ruling followed separate legal challenges from the NI Human Rights Commission and a 16-year-old Iranian asylum seeker, with the judge finding the Act’s provisions incompatible with the post-Brexit Windsor Framework.

The Human Rights Commission argued that the Act violated the UK’s obligations under the Windsor Framework and the Good Friday Agreement by reducing rights and protections.

The Iranian teenager, referred to as JR 295, arrived in the UK alone last July and is currently staying in a children’s home in Northern Ireland. His lawyers claim he fears deportation, believing he could face imprisonment or death if sent back to Iran.

Concerns were also raised that the Act could push unaccompanied asylum-seeking children into hiding to avoid removal once they turn 18, making them vulnerable to traffickers and exploiters.

The High Court ruled that a section of the Act, which could declare protection claims inadmissible, led to a “diminution of rights.”

Although Labour has since taken office, the Home Secretary pursued the appeal to clarify the Windsor Framework’s impact on asylum cases in Northern Ireland.

The appeal was scheduled for a full hearing next month, but lawyers for the Human Rights Commission and JR 295 argued that it should be dismissed due to the Government’s new Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill.

This new legislation aims to strengthen police powers against people smugglers and will repeal most of the Illegal Migration Act, which had laid the foundation for deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.

During Tuesday’s Court of Appeal session, representatives for the Human Rights Commission and JR 295 maintained that the case was now irrelevant.

However, the Home Secretary’s legal team argued that broader asylum and immigration control issues were at stake.

Tony McGleenan KC noted, “These are some of the most groundbreaking and novel legal issues that these courts have grappled with in the last decade.”

Despite these arguments, the Lady Chief Justice confirmed the appeal would be stayed and removed from its scheduled hearing date.

“The court itself will keep this matter under review given expected legal developments in this area,” Dame Siobhan stated.