ECHR will not stop us tackling illegal migration, says Justice Secretary

International law including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) must not prevent countries from tackling illegal migration, the Justice Secretary has said.

In a speech at the G7 justice ministers’ meeting in Vienna, Alex Chalk said laws and treaties should be “tailored to reality” so that countries could respond to challenges of the 21st century such as the international migration crisis.

“Our nations are now grappling with new, thorny issues, from how to respond to mass migration as millions march across the world to the spectre of climate change, and the advent of new technologies, like AI, with all the opportunities and risks they bring,” he said.

“If the law is to be respected by our citizens, it must deliver for them. Its frameworks must be capable of responding to 21st century problems. To be irrelevant is to be ignored, or still worse held in contempt – which risks damaging our freedom, safety and security.”

Mr Chalk is known to oppose any moves towards Britain leaving the ECHR, something which has been floated by Rishi Sunak, and advocated by Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, and Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister.

However, Mr Chalk has been an advocate of reform, helping to negotiate revisions to the rule 39 injunctions used by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to block the first migrant deportation flight to Rwanda in June 2022. The changes have toughened the requirements for their use.

For example, the newly codified version of court guidance states that migrants must be at “imminent risk of irreparable harm” if they are deported. It mirrors the language in the Government’s own legislation.

Mr Chalk said: “There will be some who take the view that the law should be no impediment to tackling irregular migration. But it is important for all of us here to be the voice that says ‘no’. We must uphold the rule of law, but it can also help us to protect our borders if we approach it in the right way.

“The law is a living instrument, not suspended in time. It must underpin our citizens’ rights and freedoms, and to do that, it must also be up-to-date, and tailored to reality.

“As a group of nations, it’s right that we should consider together the direction of travel for international law, to reinvigorate the rules-based order, so that it is fit to respond to the challenges of the 21st century.”