Former justice of the Supreme Court, Lord Sumption, has said the government's Rwanda Bill breaches two international treaties which maintain courts challenges cannot be blocked. Report by Alibhaiz. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00 The problem about the whole bill is that it's designed, as I said, to block access to the courts.
00:08 We are party to at least two treaties that say we can't do that.
00:12 The Refugee Convention says we can't block access to the courts, and the Human Rights Convention says the same thing.
00:21 So this is clearly a direct breach of international law, of the treaties that we've entered into.
00:28 And the government has effectively recognised that, because normally the Secretary of State, when introducing a measure,
00:35 has to certify that he thinks it's consistent with the Convention and with our international obligations.
00:43 And the minister introducing it has certified that he is unable to say that.
00:49 This legislation is much bolder than I would have anticipated before it was actually published.
00:55 I mean, the courts have made it perfectly clear many times that if you want to ride roughshod over international law and so on,
01:03 you've got to say so in clear terms. Well, this Act says it in letters of brass.
01:08 of brass.