Deportation challenge rejected as court upholds seven-day removal notice and minister’s discretion

The High Court refused an application for judicial review challenging the lawfulness of a deportation order and associated refoulement decision issued to a South African national following the refusal of his application for international protection. The court found no legal defect in the Minister's decision to impose a 7-day period for voluntary departure, determining that the relevant legislation allowed discretion in specifying such periods and that the Minister's use of a shortened timeframe for nationals from designated safe countries, as part of a pilot policy, was neither arbitrary nor capricious. The court also held that the process did not unlawfully curtail the applicant's right to an effective remedy, and that the Minister had provided sufficient reasons in refusing to accept new submissions regarding the risk of harm on return, given the adverse credibility findings made in the asylum process. The application was therefore dismissed, and the court indicated a provisional view that costs would be awarded against the applicant.