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04/10/2021
MT: The Immigration Appeals Board annulled the detention order of an asylum applicant from Ghana after the person challenged an age assessment decision and the Board noted that the person must be presumed a minor to be placed in the care of AWAS.

ECLI
Input Provided By
Individual Expert
Type
Decision
Original Documents
Relevant Legislative Provisions
National law only (in case there is no reference to EU law/ECHR)
Reference
Malta, Immigration Appeals Board, W.K.A. v The Principal Immigration Officer, 04 October 2021. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.
Permanent link to the case
https://caselaw.euaa.europa.eu/pages/viewcaselaw.aspx?CaseLawID=2776
Case history
Other information

Malta, Immigration Appeals Board, D.A. v The Principal Immigration Officer, 21 April 2022. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.

Malta, Immigration Appeals Board, Y.M.O. v The Principal Immigration Officer, 03 December 2021. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.

Malta, Immigration Appeals Board, R.M. v The Principal Immigration Officer, 24 March 2022. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.

Malta, Immigration Appeals Board, M.M. v The Principal Immigration Officer, 13 April 2022. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.

Malta, Immigration Appeals Board, F.B. v The Principal Immigration Officer, 04 October 2021. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.

Malta, Immigration Appeals Board, Applicant v The Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS), 14 July 2022. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.
Abstract

The appellant, a national of Ghana, disembarked in Malta in July 2021 and stated that he was a minor. He was detained and issued with a removal order in August 2021. As he applied for asylum, the Principal Immigration Officer suspended the removal order and issued a detention order, which was appealed.


In the age assessment procedure, the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS) decided that the applicant is not a minor. The applicant challenged the decision of AWAS. The appeal regarding the age assessment was still pending at the time of the review of the detention order.


Regarding the latter, the Immigration Appeals Board held that since the appellant challenged the age assessment decision, the presumption was that he was a minor and thus the detention order should be annulled, and the minor placed in the care of AWAS.


 


Note:


Legal basis for removal orders: Articles 5 and 14 of the Immigration Act.


Legal basis for detention orders (applies to applicants for international protection): Regulation 6 of S.L. 420.06 Reception of Asylum Seekers Regulations
Country of Decision
Malta
Court Name
MT: Immigration Appeals Board
Case Number
Date of Decision
04/10/2021
Country of Origin
Ghana
Keywords
Age assessment
Detention/ Alternatives to Detention
Minor / Best interests of the child
Unaccompanied minors
Vulnerable Group
Other Source/Information
International Commission of Jurists