The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in Safi v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 149, a significant decision concerning appellate restraint and the treatment of expert evidence in deportation appeals engaging Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Ben Keith appeared for the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the appeal.
Background
The case concerned an Afghan national who had arrived in the United Kingdom as a child and was subject to deportation following serious criminal convictions, including aggravated burglary. The First-tier Tribunal allowed the claimant’s appeal against deportation, finding that removal would breach Articles 2 and 3 ECHR in light of extensive expert evidence addressing risk, vulnerability, and the individual’s personal circumstances.
The Upper Tribunal upheld that decision, concluding that there was no material error of law.
The Court of Appeal’s decision
The Secretary of State appealed to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the appeal. The Court emphasised the limits of appellate intervention in specialist tribunal fact-finding and the importance of properly challenging expert evidence where it is relied upon.
The Court held that where detailed expert material is unchallenged, an appellate court will be slow to interfere with a tribunal’s evaluative conclusions on risk and vulnerability.
Significance
The judgment provides guidance on the approach to Articles 2 and 3 deportation cases, the evidential role of trafficking and mental-health findings, and the principles governing appellate restraint.
Ben Keith is a leading barrister specialising in cross-border and international cases. He deals with all aspects of extradition, immigration, human rights, mutual legal assistance, Interpol, financial crime and international law, including sanctions. He represents governments, political and military leaders, high net worth individuals, human rights defenders and business leaders in the most sensitive cases. He is a leading authority on the removal of Interpol Red Notices for worldwide clients. He edits the Red Notice Monitor blog.
Ben has extensive experience of appellate proceedings before the Administrative and Divisional Courts, Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court as well as applications and appeals to the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations.
Ben has significant expertise in post-soviet states, as well the Middle East and the Far East.
He is ranked in Chambers and Partners as a star leader in the field of extradition at the London Bar and in The Legal 500 as a Tier 1 leading individual in extradition. Ben is also ranked in Chambers and Partners in the field of immigration and in its Financial Crime: High Net Worth Individuals rankings. He is recognised in The Spears’ 500 2024 Guide as a ‘Recommended Immigration Law Barrister’.
