Migrants will soon have access to legal aid lawyers to be able to appeal from detention orders, according to an amendment set to come into force in the coming months.

“This drafting exercise has reached its final stages... After a detention order is issued by the Principal Immigration Officer, a migrant will be able to use the services of free legal aid from the pool of legal aid lawyers to challenge the said order by filing an appeal before the Immigration Appeals Board,” a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

Last month, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention published a report saying the conditions for migrants in Malta improved since 2009, when members of the group last visited the island.

The working group, however, said it was concerned that migrants in detention were unclear about their status and did not have adequate access to legal aid.

Read more in the Times of Malta.

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