Vehicles and Stowaways legal advice

Vehicles and Stowaways

Between January and September 2009, the UK border agency have searched more than 400,000 freight vehicles, checking they are not harbouring illegal human cargo. During the same period, the UK border agency have discovered over 14,000 stowaways trying to cross the border illegally. It is a particular problem for vehicle operators and their drivers because they are a frequent target for illegal entrants. Some stowaways will go to almost any length to get into the UK. Recently 17 illegal immigrants were found hiding in a load of dog food!

Commercial vehicle operators need a system to prevent the carriage of stowaways to the United Kingdom. We can advise upon prevention and have considerable expertise in connection with the civil penalty regime and prevention of clandestine entrants.

Our team are experts in this area, regularly assisting operators to persuade the UK Border Agency to reduce a penalty from that initially issued, or even to waive it entirely.

We were involved in Court of Appeal litigation where the penalty regime was found to be incompatible with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court also held that the power to detain vehicles to secure payment of financial penalty without allowing access to an independent tribunal to review the exercise of the power, was in conflict with Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the ECHR. As a result, the government introduced a more flexible system which operates on the basis of variable penalties which reflect the degree of care taken by operators to prevent the carriage of stowaways. A statutory right of appeal against penalties was also introduced.

For expert advice and assistance, or if you have been served with a Civil Penalty Notice for carrying stowaways contact one of our specialist transport lawyers on Freephone 0800 046 3066, learn more from our transport law blog or continuing reading through our road traffic law website.