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Stowaway fines appeal set to go all the way in Europe
Page 6
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II by Mike Gordon HauerTay ha.,e to go all the way to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg to get compensation for the £2,000-ahead stowaway fines they have paid under the Immigration and Asylum Act. This is despite last week's High Court ruling that the fixed-rate fines contravene European Human Rights laws, even though they do not break European free-trade laws.
Hauliers were left confused about whether they would still have to pay the fines or if they would be entitled to any compensation for fines already paid.
Jane George, a partner with legal group Rothera Powson, which is representing 10 UK hauliers, says: "We must now wait and see what the government does. The High Court cannot compel the Home Office to
return the money charged so far.
"If we want to push for compensation for the drivers we will have to take the matter to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg to compel the government to scrap the scheme, return the fines and compensate those charged with interest on the money they have paid.
"The government must decide which is least embarrassing for it: to change the policy itself or to defend a new court action," George adds.
Both the Home Office and the hauliers were given leave to appeal to the House of Lords, but Home Secretary David Blunken has ruled out this option. In the meantime the government can continue to serve penalty notices—but it cannot enforce them, and it will have to change its policy so that fines relate to culpability and are no longer charged at a fixed rate.
Gunther Zimmer, the lawyer representing German hauliers hit with UK stowaway fines, says: "Technzally the fines are null and void legally but they are not withdrawn. If nobody appeals and this stands as a final decision the fines should be refunded. But because we won
on European points this is unclear. We must now ask ourselves if it is worthwhile appeal ing irrespective of the Home Office's decision."
The Road Haulage and Freight Transport Associations have joined forces to send a letter to Immigration Minister Lord Jeffrey Rooker asking him to clarify the situation. Gordon Linington, the FTA's head of international trade, says: "It is now left in the hands of the government to make a decision on the issues of appeal and compensation, and it must decide how to amend the legislation to make it compatible with the Human Rights Act."
Tony Hammond, general manager of Brit European, which was fined £12,000 for six stowaways, says: "The system was geared towards penalising the law-abiding haulier. Even when you reported the immigrants to officials you got fined. This ridiculous scheme passed the responsibility of the immigration authorities on to us."