Daniel Rourke
danlrourke.bsky.social
Daniel Rourke
@danlrourke.bsky.social
Legal aid lawyer, runner and access to justice fan.
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
An important piece - human rights are not a "loophole".
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
February 18, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
New from Free Movement: Upper Tribunal dismisses judicial review in case of parents seeking to reunite with young children | Francesca Sella
Upper Tribunal dismisses judicial review in case of parents seeking to reunite with young children  - Free Movement
The Upper Tribunal has recently dismissed a judicial review action involving a Turkish Kurdish family who were separated when attempting to cross the Channel.
buff.ly
February 17, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
We never imagined that 80 years after the liberation of #Auschwitz we would see such appalling levels of antisemitism and Islamophobia, and a resurgence of the far right, in Europe.
#HolocaustMemorialDay
January 27, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
Users: We just want precise, Boolean searching. Or like, maybe just pull up the case when we type in its exact name.

Lexis/Westlaw: Okay, here is an AI assistant!
January 22, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
Interesting case on consultation (NB this was a consultation under the previous government). Judgment here. publiclawproject.org.uk/content/uplo...
January 17, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
Just as something being “enshrined in law” indicates some folly is afoot, so does a policy being “unleashed”.

Word-painting rather than thoughts being applied.
January 13, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
"Did you consider the people who don't like chili? The people who are vegetarians? The people without tastebuds? The people who don't know how to turn on stoves? What about all those folks?"
Did You Even Consider Every Possible Lived Experience Before Recklessly Posting Your Chili Recipe on Social Media?
Look, I get it. You thought what you posted was innocuous. Still, did you stop to think about everyone who has ever lived and how it could make the...
buff.ly
January 8, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
The brass neck of all these Tory MPs suddenly mobilised by child safeguarding. They decimated social care, crushed all LA and community based support infrastructure.

And Jenrick… he dumped lone children in hotels for them to be taken. He’s a one man safeguarding nightmare.
January 7, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
From yesterday: Job Ad: Immigration Solicitor at Islington Law Centre | Free Movement
Job Ad: Immigration Solicitor at Islington Law Centre - Free Movement
We are looking for an experienced Immigration Solicitor to join our highly successful, creative, and dynamic immigration team.
buff.ly
December 21, 2024 at 10:01 AM
This looks excellent
Do you want to challenge discrimination and unfairness in the immigration system, using strategic legal research and policy work?

Join our online seminar series from February 25 - 27, presented with ILPA ⬇️

publiclawproject.org.uk/events/chall...
Challenging unfairness in the immigration system - Public Law Project
For those seeking to challenge discrimination and unfairness in the immigration system, using strategic legal, research and policy work.
publiclawproject.org.uk
December 19, 2024 at 11:50 AM
Helpful 'state of the nation' summary of legal aid in 2024 from the brilliant @jowilding.bsky.social - great for access to justice nerds who haven't managed to read all of the voluminous output of reports, etc this year
My article on legal aid (what else?) in Solicitors Journal. www.solicitorsjournal.com/sjarticle/le... Contract tenders every 5 years already replaced with 'always on' contract applications; now Lord Chancellor and MoJ need to look at using LASPO s1&2 powers to regrow legal aid in the advice deserts
Legal aid: the need to re-grow from the desert
Dr Jo Wilding, a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Sussex, discusses the legal aid crisis in the UK and possible solutions to addressing access to justice challenges
www.solicitorsjournal.com
December 19, 2024 at 10:58 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
Just published:Public Law Project's brilliant new report on a research project monitoring real capacity for asylum legal aid providers to take on work remotely from South West advice desert. Spoiler: turns out there was v little real capacity, esp for appeals! publiclawproject.org.uk/content/uplo...
publiclawproject.org.uk
December 18, 2024 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
Says it all.
December 17, 2024 at 10:14 PM
In case helpful to anyone else who was panicking that they need to do their IAAS re-accreditation before 31 December 2024, I was able to get the Law Society to confirm @sonial77.bsky.social's interpretation of p7 the guidance set out in her article here - 1/2:

freemovement.org.uk/law-society-...
Law Society immigration reaccreditation scheme: how does it work and how can we help? - Free Movement
The Law Society is launching its latest round of reaccreditations for senior caseworkers and supervising senior caseworkers in immigration law. Here we take a
freemovement.org.uk
December 16, 2024 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
Having trouble getting my head round the mindset which sees Assad’s prisoners with the sun on their faces, and thinks “Yay, this’ll help us get rid of the foreigners!”
December 10, 2024 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
UK #immigration law colleagues: join Sarah Dobbie, @finnianclarke.bsky.social and myself on 4 December to discuss the immigration tribunal's latest attempts to streamline the appeals process, including how to use the new practice direction to your advantage and avoid sanctions!
November 14, 2024 at 11:56 AM
Happy with my #pumpkin carving effort this year. Came out grrrrrrr...eat!!
October 30, 2024 at 10:57 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
“Customary international humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby traps – objects that civilians are likely to be attracted to or are associated with normal civilian daily use – precisely to avoid putting civilians at grave risk” www.hrw.org/news/2024/09...
Lebanon: Exploding Pagers Harmed Hezbollah, Civilians
Thousands of pagers simultaneously exploded across Lebanon and parts of Syria on September 17, 2024, resulting in at least 12 deaths, including at least two children and two health workers, and at lea...
www.hrw.org
September 19, 2024 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
A summit of law enforcement agencies will give you law enforcement solutions to this humanitarian crisis. Presumably the reason migrant rights groups, independent lawyers or refugee representatives aren’t invited is in case they give answers Cooper doesn’t want to hear
news.sky.com/story/home-s...
Home secretary to chair summit on smuggling gangs following deaths in Channel
Yvette Cooper will convene cabinet members and members of law enforcement agencies to discuss how to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel.
news.sky.com
September 6, 2024 at 9:42 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
This is awful news. Simon was an absolute force of nature in housing legal aid and has done so very much for all of us. He was also a genuinely lovely man. This is a great shock. My heartful thoughts for his family, colleagues and (many, many) friends.
September 3, 2024 at 10:46 AM
Home Office has finally granted ILR to my two 'Calais leave' clients - young people brought to join family in the UK from the former camp in 2018.

Policy now makes clear the mess HO made of this shouldn't prejudice future citizenship apps (p10) -
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/663b40...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
August 30, 2024 at 10:49 AM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
I'm posting to remind us all how joyful escaping from Afghanistan was for this little girl skipping to freedom in Belgium in 2021. Her life would have been so different under the Taliban today.
Picture: Reuters
August 27, 2024 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke

On the AI degredation problem:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/... [gift article]
When A.I.’s Output Is a Threat to A.I. Itself
As A.I.-generated data becomes harder to detect, it’s increasingly likely to be ingested by future A.I., leading to worse results.
www.nytimes.com
August 26, 2024 at 10:50 PM
Reposted by Daniel Rourke
Good article, as is always the case with Lucy’s blog.
August 26, 2024 at 9:56 AM