Lawyers for 157 asylum seekers being detained on an Australian Customs vessel say it's still unclear where the Australian government will take them if they lose next month's High Court battle.
The full bench of the High Court will determine if the government had the power to intercept their boat, and deliver them somewhere other than Australia, after a two-day hearing gets underway from August 5 in Canberra.
Human rights lawyer and spokesman for the asylum seekers' legal team, Hugh de Kretser, is hoping for a swift resolution for the group, which has now been at sea for 25 days - including more than two weeks on the Customs vessel.
"We hope that the court after that two-day hearing will make its decision very quickly, bearing in mind that every day this case proceeds is another day that 157 people are kept onboard a vessel," he said outside the High Court in Melbourne.
Lawyers for the Sri Lankan asylum seekers argue the group was within Australian territorial waters when their vessel was intercepted 27km from Christmas Island on July 7.
The decision to detain them somewhere in the Indian Ocean did not fall within the bounds of legal reasonableness, the lawyers say.
But the Australian government says it has the legal authority to prevent non-citizens from entering Australia.
Mr de Kretser said government documents filed with the court hadn't shed any light on where it planned to take the 157 asylum seekers.
"In the government's defence they said a decision was made on the first of July to take them to a place outside Australia. They have not revealed where that place is," he said.
The outcome of the two-day hearing hinges on two key issues, Mr de Kretser said.
One is whether the government had a limit in its power to intercept the boat and take the passengers to a country where they could be at risk of harm. The second issues is fairness in the decision making process.
"The plaintiff's case in this case is that, that power is limited, that they must afford the opportunity on board to be heard about this critical decision as to where the government is going to take them," he said on Wednesday.
The 157 men, women and children set out from India on June 29.
It' not clear where the Customs vessel they are being held on is.
They still risk being transported back to Sri Lanka if the High Court legal bid fails.
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