from onward refoulement. The Committee is of the view that migrants and members of their families should be protected in cases where expulsions would constitute arbitrary interference with the right to family and private life. Migrants and members of their families in an irregular situation with international protection needs should also be protected against expulsion. Prohibition of collective expulsion 51. Article 22, paragraph 1, of the Convention explicitly prohibits collective expulsion and requires that each case of expulsion be examined and decided individually. States parties have an obligation to ensure that their expulsion procedures provide sufficient guarantees to ensure that the personal circumstances of each migrant worker are genuinely and individually taken into account. This obligation extends to all spaces over which a State party exercises effective control, which may include vessels on the high seas.26 Procedural safeguards in individual expulsion proceedings 52. Article 22, paragraph 2, seeks to prevent arbitrary expulsions by allowing only those carried out “in pursuance of a decision taken by the competent authority in accordance with law.” Article 22, paragraph 3, provides for the decision on expulsion to be communicated to the migrant worker concerned in a language he or she understands and, upon his or her request where not otherwise mandatory, in writing and with reasons, save in exceptional circumstances on grounds of national security. These rights are important to ensure due process, by enabling migrant workers to prepare their arguments with regard to such a decision. The right of the persons concerned to be informed of these rights before, or, at the latest, at the time the decision is rendered, serves the same purpose. 53. The right of a person to submit the reason he or she should not be expelled and to have his or her case reviewed by the competent authority (art. 22, para. 4), includes the right to seek a stay of the decision of expulsion pending review of the said decision. While a stay of decision does not regularize the status of the person concerned for the time of the proceedings, it prevents the State party from expelling him or her before a final decision is rendered. In accordance with article 83 of the Convention, States parties are obliged to provide an effective remedy, including the right to review by a competent authority for migrant workers and their family members, whose rights and freedoms as recognized in the Convention have been violated. The Committee notes that migrant workers and members of their families must be given adequate time and facilities to pursue such a remedy against expulsion so as to ensure the effectiveness of their right to review. Such facilities should include the right to legal assistance and the assistance of an interpreter, if necessary, and be free of charge, if the circumstances of the case so require. The competent authority reviewing the decision of expulsion should ideally be a court. The right to appeal expulsion under article 22, paragraph 4, of the Convention may only be restricted for “compelling reasons of national security”. 54. Article 22, paragraph 5, states that if an expulsion decision that has already been executed is subsequently annulled, the person concerned has the right to seek compensation according to law. The expelling State shall ensure that the expelled person has the necessary facilities to pursue his or her compensation claim from abroad, for example, by appointing a legal representative. Furthermore, the expelling State may not invoke the earlier (annulled) decision to deny the person concerned re-entry into its territory. 55. Article 22, paragraph 6, provides for the person concerned by an expulsion decision to have a reasonable opportunity before or after departure to settle any claims for wages and other entitlements due to him or her and any pending liabilities. This provision echoes article 9, paragraph 1, of ILO Convention No. 143 (1975) concerning Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions). The opportunity to settle claims, wages and other benefits must be effective in practice. Migrant workers often encounter problems pursuing legal claims in the State of employment once they have returned to their State of origin, including high litigation costs or difficulties providing evidence. Therefore, States parties should, whenever possible, grant migrant workers and their family members a reasonable 26 See European Court of Human Rights, Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy, Application No. 27765/09 (23 February 2012). 68

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