Refugees excused from legal fees security

Judge Jeremy Pickering of the Eastern Cape High Court (Port Elizabeth) has ruled that at least four refugees can continue with their unlawful arrest and detention cases against the Home Affairs Department without having to provide security for legal costs, says a report in The Herald. Pickering said that public interest considerations dictate they not be denied access to the justice system. He was giving judgment in the case of Jannatu Alam but said his ruling would also apply to the case of three other refugees with similar lawsuits. According to the report, Alam has sued the department for damages after he claimed to have been wrongfully arrested and detained by officials while the final determination of his asylum application was still pending. The Home Affairs Department then applied to the court for an order that he not be allowed to continue with his legal action unless able to put up R250 000 in security to cover legal fees should he lose. Pickering, however, ruled that Alam’s presence in SA was legal even if it was ‘precarious and permissive’. He said that, as an asylum seeker, Alam was in a vulnerable position and it would be ‘fair and just’ to excuse him from providing security for costs.