As of 1 October 2012 a new procedure has been introduced for judicial review of decisions by the Upper Tribunal to refuse permission to appeal to itself. This follows on from the Supreme Court’s judgment in Cart and MR (Pakistan) [2011] UKSC 28 (previous post). A new Rule 54.7A is...
UNHCR has published guidelines on Working with men and boy survivors of sexual and and gender based violence in forced displacement. The document is essential reading for anyone working with such men and boys and it is the first time I can recall seeing this taboo and much misunderstood subject...
In a case that in some ways exceptional but in many ways entirely ordinary, the UK Border Agency this week rejected an asylum claim by a young Afghan man. The reason the case was exceptional is that he had previously worked with the British armed forces and been horrendously injured...
I came across the European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL) yesterday (hat tip to the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter (FRLAN)) and thought it was worth sharing with readers. It is funded by the European Commission’s European Refugee Fund and run by the Irish Refugee Council and ECRE in partnership....
The Court of Appeal recently gave judgment in a very important decision in European Union deportation cases, Secretary of State for the Home Department v FV (Italy) [2012] EWCA Civ 1199. The case concerns the question of whether or how far a period of imprisonment interferes with rights of residence...
Following on from his learned but — at least on the question of what a judge should actually do— slightly Delphic determination in AG and others (Policies; executive discretions; Tribunal’s powers) Kosovo [2007] UKAIT 00082, the Deputy President Mr Ockelton has returned to the issue of dealing with executive discretion...
Human Rights Watch and a proxy terror front group -Freedom from Torture, clamored that the flights should be suspended because some ‘ethnic’ Tamils were subjected to cruel treatment in the island nation. This is what the Sri Lankan government’s own Ministry of Defence has to say about the charity Freedom...
How many torture claims from returnees to Sri Lanka are necessary before the UKBA and the Courts decide that the time has come for review? This graph (click link to see further details) attempts to collate the data from recent reports and compare it against a broad pattern of removals...
Below is a list of materials which can be used in connection/in support of claims against decisions to remove on the charter flight(s) bound for Sri Lanka next week. The list will be updated as and when relevant materials are published and/or circulated, so watch this space. Not a comprehensive...
There are we understand two charter flights bound to Sri Lanka on the 19 and 20 September 2012. If detainees do not have solicitors then contact Janani Jananayagam from TAG [Tamils Against Genocide] who can be contacted on 07801 999130. She will direct detainees to solicitors who may be able...
From 9 July 2012 the UKBA’s new rules on deportation took effect and should be retrospective, paragraph A362 stating ‘Where Article 8 is raised in the context of deportation…the claim under Article 8 will only succeed where the requirements of these rules as at 9 July 2012 are met, regardless...
Yes another Statement of Changes – HC 565 – has been laid and (hold your breath), most of it comes into force… today! I am grateful to Alison Harvey at ILPA, whose hard-work is truly immeasurable: an e-mail was sent out at 11pm last night alerting members to this following...
Continuing with our efforts to decipher and digest the new Immigration Rules, this post examines the changes made to the categories relevant to parents of children who are here in the UK. As is common to most if not all categories under the new Rules, this section is also subject...
The Court of Appeal’s judgement in KA (Afghanistan) & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 1014 makes it absolutely clear that the Secretary of State’s duty toward unaccompanied minors, in particular her duty to trace family members, is not discharged by giving them leave...
The UK Border Agency has taken to using social media to proclaim its propaganda on the ongoing purge of illegal immigrants from the United Kingdom. Conventional press releases are no longer sufficient. Free Movement has already covered the use of YouTube (see latest bizarre video here). Now Twitter, Storify and...
This post is definitely one for the lawyers, I’m afraid, as it concerns an important but difficult to explain area of European Union free movement law: obtaining evidence in retained rights of residence cases. A few weeks ago my roommate in chambers, the marvellous Francis Allen, told me with more...
As the third in a series of blog posts on the radical new July 2012 immigration rules we turn now to the Home Secretary’s attempt to “define” the right to family and private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is incorporated into our...
As the second in a series of blog posts on the radical new July 2012 immigration rules we turn now to long residence requirements. Transitional Provisions Applications for indefinite leave to remain made under Paragraph 276B(i)(a) of the Immigration Rules which relate to the 10 years continuous lawful leave in...
Recently the Law Society Gazette ran an article by Yewa Holiday, a barrister and a case review manager at the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which highlighted the plight of asylum seekers and refugees wrongly convicted after being advised to plead guilty to offences relating to their entry to the...
In June 2012 human rights organisation Liberty issued a briefing on the proposed changes to the Immigration Rules on spouses and partners and introduction of a minimum income threshold. The old rule required that spouses and partners show they had ‘adequate’ support and would not have recourse to public funds,...
In the case of HJ (Iran) [2011] 1 AC 596 (post here) the Supreme Court held that self oppression can be persecution. To put it another way, being forced to conceal a Convention reason protected characteristic (sexuality, political opinion, religious faith and so on) would itself be persecutory. This self...
The UK Border Agency just got permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal on these grounds, reproduced word for word in their entirety: The Judge of the First-tier Tribunal has made a material error of law in the determination in the following way. The judge has erred by failing to...
A new “subjective” element has been discovered and can be found in the Immigration Appeals Family Visitor Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1532). Watch out for this worrying little element as it has the potential to restrict the appeal rights of unmarried partners. The 2012 Regulations defines who is a “family member”...
Further to Sarah Pinder’s earlier post on this subject, I have been provided with a copy of the infamous “PBS PROCESS INSTRUCTION EVIDENTIAL FLEXIBILITY” document in response to a Freedom of Information Request. I am very grateful to Jane Heybroek [ed. valued occasional blog commenter!] for sharing it. A copy...
It will not have escaped the attention of immigration barristers in London that there are some very fresh faces in court acting for the Home Office. ‘Operation Present’ is back, sort of, with the Home Office having recruited a bunch of junior barristers to ensure no case goes uncovered. Free...
In the case of RT (Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] UKSC 38 the Supreme Court has today held that asylum seekers cannot be expected to lie or dissemble in order to achieve safety in their own country. This principle applies equally to a committed political...
In a spate of very significant judgments last week, the long awaited legacy case has finally come out: Hakemi v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWHC 1967 (Admin). Nicola Braganza was led by Hugh Southey QC, both of Tooks Chambers. As many suspected we are still in...
Following the Supreme Court decisions in the cases of Munir and Alvi, as reported on this blog yesterday, the UK Border Agency has acted suspiciouslyextremely quickly: see the Statement of Changes CM 8423 dated 19 July 2012, to come into force on 20 July 2012. All 296 pages of it....
As we have previously argued on this blog here and here, attacks by newspapers on judges for following and applying the law are unwarranted and dangerous in a healthy democracy. In one recent such attack article, the Daily Mail named a particular immigration judge and published a paparazzi-style photograph of...
View image | gettyimages.com The judgments The judgments in Munir [2012] UKSC 32 and Alvi [2012] UKSC 33 are perhaps the most important in immigration law since the Immigration Act 1971 was passed. The Supreme Court holds that the ancient royal prerogative to control the entry of aliens has been...
[UPDATE: for more analysis see new post The Case of the Lost Prerogative] This is huge news in immigration law: the Supreme Court has dismissed the Home Office appeal in Alvi [2012] UKSC 33, upholding the earlier Court of Appeal judgment in Pankina. The press summary can be found here...
We at Renaissance are appalled at the witch hunt of Upper Tribunal Judges who have had the audacity to allow a criminal deportation appeal. As those on the coal face know, winning a criminal deportation appeal is no walk in the park and at first instance demands a great deal...
In another major end of term judgment the Court of Appeal has finally reviewed the legality of preventing reliance on new evidence at Points Based System appeals hearings. The case is Alam v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 960 and it includes a review of...
In a follow up to my last post on Country Guidance cases generally and the Court of Appeal judgment in SG (Iraq) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 940, the existing Country Guidance case on Zimbawe, that of EM and Others (Returnees) Zimbabwe CG [2011]...
In the jurisprudential equivalent of Easyjet and Ryanair flights simultaneously arriving at Stansted from Alicante, Malaga AND Lanzarote, a number of important cases have just been deposited in the luggage carousel that is BAILII. School is now out and the legal bigwigs will shortly be decamping to Tuscany, or wherever...
Following up from yesterday, this post is now going to look at the second case of two from the Upper Tribunal setting further guidance as to how to deal with family proceedings. In Nimako-Boateng (residence orders – Anton considered) [2012] UKUT 00216 (IAC) the UT had considered the position as...
Two cases were reported very recently from the Upper Tribunal both looking at the impact of family court proceedings and orders on immigration proceedings and vice versa. The first case of Nimako-Boateng (residence orders – Anton considered) [2012] UKUT 00216(IAC) is dealt with in this post leaving the second case...
