R (Aguilar Quila) v Home Secretary [2012] 1 AC 621

Court: Supreme Court

Facts: The applicants applied for leave to remain in the UK as spouses of UK citizens. The Home Secretary rejected their application because they did not meet the minimum age requirement of 21 under Immigration Rule 277, which aimed to prevent forced marriages. The applicants claimed that this rule breached their Article 8 ECHR right to respect for family life.

Issue: Whether the minimum age requirement of 21 under Immigration Rule 277 was a disproportionate restriction on the applicants' rights under Article 8 ECHR.

Held : The Supreme Court held that the refusals were unlawful and incompatible with Article 8. It found that the minimum age requirement was disproportionate, as it obstructed unforced marriages significantly more than it prevented forced marriages.

Key Judicial Statements: The court adopted the four-limb proportionality test and concluded that the policy did not meet the requirements of necessity and balance.

💡LevelupLaw: illustrates the application of proportionality in immigration law, particularly regarding the balance between preventing forced marriages and respecting family life under the ECHR.