The Australian High Court deemed the government's plans to ship asylum seekers to Malaysia, to be a violation of Australia's laws and the country's commitments internationally.

The ruling centred on Malaysia's inability to guarantee the safety and well-being of asylum seekers in accordance with Australian law.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. 

The High Court ruled:

[the country accepting Australia's asylum seekers] "must be legally bound by international law or its own domestic law to: provide access for asylum seekers to effective procedures for assessing their need for protection."

"Provide protection for asylum seekers pending determination of their refugee status."

"Provide protection for persons given refugee status pending their voluntary return to their country of origin or their resettlement in another country.”

Australia and Malaysia signed an agreement earlier this summer, whereby the majority of asylum seekers arriving in Australia would be shipped to Malaysia in order to have their claims processed by the UN office in Malaysia. Australia would accept 4000 UN approved refugees over a four year period in return.

The immigration minister, Chris Bowen, criticised the ruling as “profoundly disappointing.”

He warned that the possibility of similar deals with other nearby countries, acceptable to the court, had not been ruled out.