A Seoul court has struck down the Justice Ministry's refusal to disclose who sits on a panel that reviews the continued detention of foreign nationals, finding no sufficient legal basis for keeping the membership secret.
The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of four lawyers specializing in migrant rights who challenged the Immigration Detention Review Committee's decision to withhold the names of all its members, according to local daily Kyunghyang Shinmun.
The committee was established last year under the Justice Ministry to review objections to detention orders, extensions of detention and applications for temporary release.
Under the Immigration Act, continued detention beyond two months is subject to review by the committee.
The system was introduced after the Constitutional Court ruled in 2023 that a provision allowing potentially indefinite immigration detention was constitutionally nonconforming. The court said detention, which places a serious restriction on physical liberty, required an independent review mechanism.
Since its launch, however, the committee has faced criticism over a lack of transparency because neither its full membership nor the minutes of its meetings have been made public.
Four lawyers specializing in migrant rights requested the membership list in November last year. After the committee rejected the request, they filed an administrative lawsuit in February.
They argued that disclosure was necessary for the public to assess the committee's neutrality and objectivity, particularly because many of its members are appointed by the justice minister.
The court sided with the lawyers and revoked the committee's decision, finding that the ministry lacked a sufficient legal basis to withhold the information.
During the proceedings, the Justice Ministry cited an enforcement decree of the Immigration Act stating that the identities of current and former committee members should not be disclosed in order to protect the fairness of deliberations.
The court, however, found that the decree went beyond what was authorized by the Immigration Act itself.
"The Immigration Act merely stipulates that meetings of the Immigration Detention Review Committee shall be closed to the public and contains no provision specifically delegating authority concerning the disclosure of the information at issue," the court said.
Lee Sang-hyun, an attorney with public interest law organization Duroo who represented the plaintiffs, said the enforcement decree had been controversial from the outset because it lacked a statutory basis and conflicted with the purpose of creating a neutral review body.
"The Justice Ministry pushed ahead with the revision of the enforcement decree despite opposing views, so the ruling is significant in that the court found the provision itself to lack a legal basis," Lee told Kyunghyang.
The Justice Ministry said it is reviewing whether to appeal the ruling.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
