Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs Written Evidence


Annex

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE CURRENT APPEALS PROCEDURE AND FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS

  30.  Under the current system, appeals against Home Office decisions are initially heard by an adjudicator. Adjudicators' decisions may be appealed to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal but only where the Tribunal has first granted permission to appeal. If permission is refused, there may be grounds to apply to the High Court for a statutory review of that decision. The substantive decision of the Tribunal can be appealed to the Court of Appeal where grounds exist and ultimately to the House of Lords. In practice it is common for the Tribunal to remit cases back to a different adjudicator for a re-hearing.

  31.  Subject to satisfaction of the means and merits test, appeals to an adjudicator or the Tribunal are conducted under Controlled Legal Representation (CLR) which is part of the Legal Help Scheme. Applications to the High Court and above would be conducted under a full legal aid certificate.

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE NEW APPEALS PROCEDURE

  32.  From April 2005 all appeals against Home Office determinations will be heard by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. This is a single tier system. An application for a review can be initially made to the High Court but only where the AIT has made an error of law. These applications will go through a "filter mechanism" where a High Court judge will consider whether the application should be sent back to the AIT for full reconsideration. If the High Court refuses there may be grounds for a review of the High Court decision. Refusal by the AIT on reconsideration may provide grounds to apply for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The procedures are illustrated by the flow chart below which was originally produced by the DCA.

The Law Society

December 2004









 
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