Australian court tests legality of offshore detention for asylum seekers

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's highest court will begin considering on Wednesday whether the policy of sending asylum seekers to the tiny South Pacific nation of Nauru for long-term detention is in breach of the constitution, a major challenge to the controversial policy.

The hearings at the High Court, which are scheduled to last two days, will test for the first time whether Australia has the legal right to participate in the offshore detention of asylum seekers - the backbone of its immigration policy for five years.