I first met Zahir when he transferred to the United Kingdom Immigrants Advice Service (UKIAS) office in Manchester in 1974. I often recall sitting in his office discussing cases, seeking his expert advice and telling him of our plans for the development of the offices in the North. Sadly UKIAS...
The MoJ say that for the first time, you can search not only Upper Tribunal ‘reported’ decisions but also ‘unreported’ decisions, which make up 96% of cases. The new website includes all of the ‘reported’ decisions by the tribunal and the ‘unreported’ ones after 1 June 2013 (those prior to that...
Migrants will not stop coming to Europe in search of a better life no matter how many sea patrols the politicians send. Families will not allow themselves to be torn apart no matter how tough the immigration rules get. Our politicians are fighting basic human needs and basic human nature....
[UPDATED] In his final judgment in the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Judge has given some interesting guidance given on the role of the advocate in a contentious trial. The case is R v Farooqi & Ors [2013] EWCA Crim 1649 and the judgment is that of the court. The advocate whose conduct...
Self-styled Theresa ‘CRAZY’ May, our esteemed Home Secretary, has unveiled a range of hardline new immigration measures at the Conservative Party conference. I’ve added the capitals, but in relating her little anecdote about Abu Qatada she seems happy enough to be associated with the moniker: I was told a story by one...
Up late last night on urgent well paid business immigration opinion. In court this morning on not-so-well-paid family immigration case. In court this afternoon pro bono for intervention on behalf of a charity. Off to solicitor firm party in Tottenham tonight. All good, but looking forward to the weekend!
...Just a quick note on this. As I previously mooted (‘Judicial review of Upper Tribunal‘), it is possible to appeal to the Court of Appeal from refusal of permission in a Cart-type judicial review of a decision of the Upper Tribunal to refuse permission to appeal to itself. However, there...
I just noticed that I passed 3,000 Twitter followers. That feels like a lot, although nothing compared to legal Twitter titans @nearlylegal (5,435), @AdamWagner1 (13,277) and @JackofKent (46,106!). So I thought it was time for a periodic general stats and numbers check, particularly as I keep forgetting blog birthdays, the traditional time...
The latest issue of Forced Migration Review, Issue 44 on Detention, alternatives to detention and deportation, has been made available for free. It is a huge issue with a range of really interesting looking articles. As well as covering the headline themes, there are also several articles on Syria and...
Many migrants and their families get caught in a situation where they apply to the Home Office for permission to stay, are rejected but then are unable to appeal the decision to the immigration tribunal. This has long been a problem (‘Refusal with no right of appeal revisited‘) but is...
The UK is a party to and has ratified both of the Statelessness Conventions. However, until recently there has been inconsistency in approach to those asylum (and other) applicants who are without a nationality, and often a failure to record or even to even notice that there is an issue...
Family lawyers and courts are blazing a bit of a trail with use of Skype technology for hearing low cost evidence from abroad. In the recently reported case of Re ML (Use of Skype Technology) [2013] EWHC 2091 (Fam) Mr Justice Peter Jackson reports on two recent uses of Skype for...
Are you fenced in? Is there a security wall that stops you getting from A to B? The Guardian is launching a major project to report on the growing number of walls and fences that authorities are using to keep people in – or out, whether they are along state borders, as...
The horrific news of sexual abuse by private security contractors at Yarlswood, the female-only immigration detention centre near Bedford, is awful and shocking. It is very far from the first time that problems or outright abuse at Yarlswood has been reported, though. Various examples from 2009 onwards can be found here, here, here,...
One overlooked solution to the one way asylum fast track to refusal and removal is to seek an injunction preventing consideration under the fast track process. This option should be seriously considered where the client has good grounds for asserting that a premature refusal decision by the Home Office will...
The case of Rose Akhalu (health claim: ECHR Article 8) [2013] UKUT 400 (IAC) offers a glimmer of hope to some migrants dependent on health care in the UK facing removal. These cases can involve people being sent to their country of origin to die an avoidably early and unpleasant...
If we were to do what my hon. Friend suggested and have a blanket policy of not detaining [pregnant] women, first, having read many cases, I fear we would find quite a lot of people saying they were pregnant as another method of delaying their departure from the UK …...
Professor Stephen Meili of the University of Minnesota Law School has written a very interesting article entitled U.K. Refugee Lawyers: Pushing the Boundaries of Domestic Court Acceptance of International Human Rights Law for the Boston College Law Review 54 B.C.L. Rev. 1123 (2013). It is fascinating for we UK refugee...
A special free edition of the journal Judicial Review, published by Hart, also publishers of Michael ‘Avocado of Justice‘ Fordham’s brilliant Judicial Review Handbook. The special edition focusses on the proposed legal aid changes, an announcement on which is expected soon.
...It is finally almost upon us: the transfer of judicial review claims from the High Court to the Upper Tribunal will take place on 1 November 2013. In addition, applications for permission lodged after 9 September 2013, including those where permission has been refused on the papers and oral renewal...
Really useful and concise best practice guide for country experts in asylum and immigration cases in the United Kingdom by Anthony Good and Tobias Kelly. Immigration lawyers would be well advised routinely to provide this to their experts. It covers the legal framework including the practice direction on expert evidence,...
On Wednesday evening, a group of activists, lawyers and campaigners gathered in East London to discuss the Government’s ‘Go Home’ campaign and to demonstrate their solidarity with immigrant and refugee communities. The event was attended by Garden Court’s Marketing Assistant, Amy Carrington.
...The legal action initiated by David Miranda through UK solicitors Bindmans brings into sharp focus an issue that has been troubling me since the Snowden revelations began: how can a lawyer acting against government be sure that privileged communications with his or her client are not being read by that...
Zambrano cases for admission to the UK finally seem to be filtering through to the Upper Tribunal. In MA and SM (Zambrano: EU children outside EU) Iran [2013] UKUT 00380 (IAC) there are two linked appeals, both involving a child resident in the UK with one parent where the other...
The tribunal isn’t bound by a NOMS risk assessment report when it isn’t high risk. But is bound when it is high risk. Also the tribunal comes down like a tonne of bricks on a claimant’s representative who failed to comply with procedure rules and directions. We are, I think,...
Kent Martin is a regular and long time Free Movement reader and sent this in for the blog. I thought it made an interesting contrast to the absence of positive media coverage in this country. I’m an Australian/Brit who has spent over a decade in both countries and have been...
