BIOT Supreme Court strikes down long‑standing ban on living in the Outer Chagos Islands

The Supreme Court of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) has struck down a long‑standing law that banned people, including Chagossians, from living on the Outer Chagos Islands. 

The ruling follows a case brought by four Chagossians who were among nine people that travelled to Ile Du Coin, an uninhabited outer island, earlier this year. They were ordered to leave by BIOT authorities, prompting a legal challenge against the commissioner.

At the centre of the case was a 2004 Order in Council that removed the right of Chagossians to enter or remain on the outer islands. The Court found that this provision was unlawful, ruling that the government had no valid legal basis to exclude an entire population. 

Chief Justice James Lewis KC said there was no longer any “rational reason” for maintaining the ban, especially after the UK agreed to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while leasing back the joint UK‑US military base on Diego Garcia for 99 years. 

The Court also quashed the commissioner’s removal order against the Chagossians who landed on Ile Du Coin, stating that the exclusion of the right of abode could not be justified by administrative necessity or security concerns. 

The BIOT administration has appealed the ruling, according to the UK Foreign Office.