Ruddock v Vadarlis [2001] FCA 1329 (the Tampa case)
What was at stake
Whether the Commonwealth executive had power, absent statutory authority, to detain and remove asylum seekers rescued by the MV Tampa and prevent them entering Australia.
What the court decided
By a 2:1 majority the executive had a non-statutory power under s61 of the Constitution to prevent non-citizens entering Australia and to detain them for that purpose; the first-instance habeas order was reversed. The case that opened the Pacific Solution.
Categories
Authoritative link
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