Disciplining the Troublesome Offspring of Section 19 of the Immigration Act 2014: The Supreme Court in KO (Nigeria)

In KO (Nigeria), the Supreme Court have given an authoritative interpretation of s 19 of the Immigration Act 2014. This had been required because of an unusually high degree of judicial disagreement at the Upper Tribunal and Court of Appeal as to the proper interpretation of the removal and deportation provisions in that Act. Two different strands of interpretation emerged simultaneously – a weight interpretation and an exception interpretation – which the author explored in a previous volume of this journal. The Supreme Court have now authoritatively endorsed an approach to s 19, Immigration Act 2014 based on the creation in the Act of defined exceptions to deportation and removal. This article explains the judgment in KO (Nigeria) and argues that it leaves significant tensions unresolved between the legislation on deportation and removal on one side, and the statutory commitment to the best interest of the child on the other.